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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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How do you like the idea of 3 years in prison for speaking out against the toxic jabs?

This is an evolving issue. In recent developments according to France Info:

The rejection of the measure on the night of Tuesday, February 13 had caused an outcry in the macronist ranks in the Assembly.

After long debates, the deputies adopted at first reading the draft law against sectarian excesses on Wednesday, February 14, in which they reintegrated the controversial article 4, which creates a new crime of “provocation to abstention from medical care”.

Translated from French

Décret de présentation

La Première ministre,

Sur le rapport du ministre de l’intérieur et des outre-mer,

Vu l’article 39 de la Constitution,

Décrète :

Le présent projet de loi visant à renforcer la lutte contre les dérives sectaires, délibéré en conseil des ministres après avis du Conseil d’État, sera présenté au Sénat par le ministre de l’intérieur et des outre-mer, qui sera chargé d’en exposer les motifs et d’en soutenir la discussion, avec le concours de la secrétaire d’État auprès du ministre de l’intérieur et des outre-mer, chargée de la citoyenneté et auprès du ministre de l’intérieur et des outre-mer et du ministre de la transition écologique et de la cohésion des territoires, chargée de la ville.

Fait à Paris, le 15 novembre 2023

Signé : Élisabeth BORNE

Par la Première ministre :

Le ministre de l’intérieur et des outre-mer

Signé : Gérald DARMANIN

La secrétaire d’État auprès du ministre de l’intérieur et des outre-mer, chargée de la citoyenneté et auprès du ministre de l’intérieur et des outre-mer et du ministre de la transition écologique et de la cohésion des territoires, chargée de la ville

Signé : Sabrina AGRESTI-ROUBACHE

TRANSLATION

Presentation decree

The Prime Minister,

On the report of the Minister of the Interior and Overseas,

Having regard to Article 39 of the Constitution,

Decree:

This draft law to strengthen the fight against sectarian excesses, deliberated in the Council of Ministers pursuant to the opinion of the Council of State, will be presented to the Senate by the Minister of the Interior and Overseas, who will be responsible for setting out the reasons and supporting the discussion, with the assistance of the Secretary of State to the Minister of the Interior and Overseas, in charge of citizenship and to the Minister of the Interior and Overseas and the Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, in charge of the city.

Paris, November 15, 2023

Signed: Élisabeth BORNE

By the Prime Minister:

The Minister of the Interior and Overseas

Signed: Gérald DARMANIN

The Secretary of State to the Minister of the Interior and Overseas, in charge of citizenship and to the Minister of the Interior and Overseas and the Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, in charge of the city

Signed: Sabrina AGRESTI-ROUBACHE

After article 223-1-1 of the penal code, article 223-1-2 is inserted as follows:

”  Art. 223-1-2 . – Provocation to abandon or abstain from following therapeutic or prophylactic medical treatment is punishable by one year of imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros, when this abandonment or abstention is presented as beneficial for the health of the persons targeted when it is, in the state of medical knowledge, clearly likely to result in serious consequences for their physical or psychological health, taking into account the pathology from which they suffer.

Provocation to adopt practices presented as having a therapeutic or prophylactic purpose for the persons concerned is punishable by the same penalties when it is, in the state of medical knowledge, clear that these practices expose them to an immediate risk of death. or injuries likely to result in mutilation or permanent disability.

“When the provocation provided for in the first two paragraphs has been followed by effects, the penalties are increased to three years of imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros.

“When these offenses are committed through the written or audiovisual press, the specific provisions of the laws which govern these matters are applicable with regard to the determination of the persons responsible. »

The “authoritarians” in the French government wanted a law where they could shut down anyone presenting any alternatives to their “state of medical knowledge”.

For example, anyone claiming that their modRNA gene therapy treatments are harmful. The punishment? Up to three years in prison.

Surely, no parliament would ever agree to this, Right?

Stupid rhetorical question since we already know they wanted to imprison people for not taking the jabs in Canada, and they did imprison people in Austria, and our “leaders” talked about critics as “taking up space” and being “dangerous extremists” – it was clear where this was heading a long time ago).

But now it is formalized in France

On February 13, 2024 , the French National Assembly approved the bill:

While the National Assembly had rejected, on the night of Tuesday February 13 to Wednesday February 14, article 4 of the bill aimed at “strengthening the fight against sectarian aberrations”, a second deliberation took place on Wednesday after- noon, on the measure relating to the creation of an offense of inciting people to abandon care. The government and its relative majority this time won their case against the main opposition groups. 

The transpartisan work paid off .” Not without a certain optimism, this is how the Secretary of State for Citizenship, Sabrina Agresti-Roubache , chose to summarize the bitter battle waged in the hemicycle of the National Assembly between defenders and slayers of Article 4 of the bill “aimed at strengthening the fight against sectarian abuses” , at the end of the examination of the text on first reading.  

Specifically dedicated to therapeutic abuses, this article 4 creates a new offense aimed at punishing

provocation to abandon or abstain from following therapeutic or prophylactic medical treatment “, as well as

provocation to adopt practices presented as having a therapeutic or prophylactic purpose “,

when these incentives can prove to be “particularly serious” for physical or psychological health .

Seen by most opposition groups – with the exception of the Socialist group – as an a priori condemnation of so-called “parallel” medicine, as posing a threat to whistleblowers, the government and the majority have in initially failed to get the measure adopted.

The sincerity of this fight against sectarian aberrations must not consist of sanctioning by law complementary care practices or the consumption of phytotherapeutic products ,” said Jean-François Coulomme (La France insoumise) , when Thomas Ménage (Rassemblement national) had castigated ” a liberticidal drift ” and Paul Molac (LIOT) a ” danger for [ the ] freedom of expression “. The amendments to delete article 4 – presented by deputies from Les Républicains, Rassemblement national, Gauche Démocrate et Républicaine, and LIOT – were adopted by almost 8 votes ( 116 For, 108 Against ).

This was without taking into account the determination of the government and the majority.

Wednesday February 14, at the end of the examination of the bill, the president of the Laws Committee, Sacha Houlié (Renaissance) , spoke in the hemicycle to request a second deliberation , as permitted by the Article 101 of the  Regulations of the National Assembly. This provides that ” the second deliberation is by right at the request of the Government or the commission seized with the merits “.

Brigitte Liso therefore presented an amendment to reinstate – and rewrite – Article 4.

If the rapporteur stressed that the offense would not be constituted when proof of the free and informed consent of the person is provided , she also specified that the new wording brought an additional dimension linked to the protection of whistleblowers, which was  the reason for the law of December 9, 2016 relating to transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of economic life.

An objective reaffirmed in the text of the amendment, according to which ” the information reported or disclosed by the whistleblower under the conditions provided for in Article 6 ” of the law previously cited ” does not constitute provocation ” in the sense of article 4 of this bill.

A precaution that the Socialists group itself had proposed by amendment, allowing one of its members, Arthur Delaporte , to unreservedly praise the reinstatement in the text of the offense aimed at punishing incitement to abandon care. “ With this article, we defend science ,” he also welcomed.

A tone radically different from that expressed by the main opposition groups – Rassemblement national, La France insoumise, Les Républicains – who voted against the amendment aimed at reinstating article 4.

During the debates, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (no registered) denounced a method of “contempt, of force “,

Jean-François Coulomme (LFI) deplored the absence of ” seriousness of the deliberation “.

And following the  reinstatement of article 4 (by 182 votes “for” and 137 “against”, details of the vote here ), Aurélien Pradié (LR) denounced ” a Pyrrhic victory “.

The entire bill was finally adopted, on first reading, by 151 votes to 73 He will now continue his legislative journey by returning to the Senate. 

It just needs to pass the Senate now, and the French will be well on the way to the authoritarian medical dystopia we have predicted.

Just as in Canada, and elsewhere, it is the authoritarian “Left/Liberals” [coopted by the WEF, powerful financial interests as well as Big Pharma] who are using The Science ™ (State Scientism) as a weapon against their enemies, the people. It is the “populist” parties who are defending the people.

In France, the biggest opposition to the Bill came from the Rassemblement National, which Wikipedia describes as:

…right-wing populist party in France.[9] It is the largest parliamentary opposition group in the National Assembly…It is an anti-immigration party, advocating significant cuts to legal immigration and protection of French identity,[10] as well as stricter control of illegal immigration. It also advocates for a ‘more balanced’ and ‘independent’ French foreign policy by opposing French military intervention in Africa and by distancing France from the American sphere of influence by leaving NATO’s integrated command. It supports the reform of the European Union (EU) and its related organisations. It also supports economic interventionism and protectionism, and zero tolerance of breaches of law and order.[11] The party has been accused of promoting xenophobia and antisemitism.[12]

If the Senate approves this Bill, which they probably will, the populists will grow in strength.

We have long predicted that populist/libertarian/traditionalist political parties will regain control; but will this be before the social fabric of our societies has been totally destroyed?

And, even more pressingly, will this be before the globalists roll out their plan for global vaccine mandates?

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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In the New York Times on October 5, 2002, reporter Michael Gordon authored “C.I.A. Says Iraq Revived Forbidden Weapons Programs After the U.N. Inspectors Left.” It reported “a classified National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq’s programs to make weapons of mass destruction was provided to Congress early this week,” and quoted an unclassified summary of that Estimate, or NIE, saying “although Saddam probably does not yet have nuclear weapons… he remains intent on acquiring them.”

A month earlier, Gordon worked with Judith Miller to co-author what was to become an infamous article, “U.S. Says Hussein Intensifies Quest for A-Bomb Parts.” That piece was based on interviews with George W. Bush administration officials who previewed the public case for war, claiming “Iraq has sought to buy thousands of specially designed aluminum tubes” that “could be used to make centrifuges to enrich uranium.” Miller and Gordon added that technical specifications “persuaded American intelligence experts” that the attempted tube purchases were for Iraq’s nuclear program.

Both articles were important parts of the Bush administration’s case for war, but the second was more impactful than the first. Everyone knew the White House was hot to take out Hussein, but news that a major intelligence report backed the administration’s belief about a reconstituted Iraqi nuclear program suggested widespread agreement across government about the White House’s conclusions. The CIA’s “intent on acquiring them” line was critical in helping Bush build public consensus and gain congressional approval to attack. As Gordon noted, the report came at “a critical juncture in the Congressional debate over the possible use of force.”

As it turned out, the 2002 NIE was a pioneering effort in a new form of executive mischief, one that wedded selective releases of classified research to suppression of dissent to build public cases for action, with secrecy rules guaranteeing long delays between initial public deceptions and later disillusioning revelations. This practice is at the center of today’s Racket/Public story about how the January 6, 2017 report that “Cooked the Intelligence” to hide that Russia didn’t fear a Clinton presidency, and people of all political persuasions should care about it because the corruption issue isn’t partisan.

This is a process problem, and what was laid out to us about the crooked techniques used to “cook” the last surviving myth of the Russiagate era — that Vladimir Putin ordered an “influence campaign” to help Trump — could be used by any party, any administration, any group of intelligence officials seeking to use a bogus pretext to do something nasty.

Using dubious foreign conclusions to buttress the initial domestic campaigns is part of the pattern. The October 2002 American report on “Iraq’s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction” was written on the heels of a British assessment from September 24, 2002, that among other things claimed that some of Saddam Hussein’s WMDs were ready for deployment “within 45 minutes of an order to use them.” Not until a year later, in August of 2003, did reports begin to emerge sourced to British dossier scientist David Kelly that the UK assessment had been “sexed up.” British journalist Alistair Campbell described talking to Kelly, who said he’d been told a week before publication that the British report was insufficiently exciting. From the Guardian:

“He said ‘until the last week, it wasn’t very exciting, it was transformed the week before publication.’

“I said ‘To make it sexy?’ and he said ‘Yes, to make it sexy.’”

For the U.S., the WMD story fell apart on the ground in Iraq, where searches came up empty, but it also fell apart on paper, as intelligence secrets began to leak out. On July 25th, 2003, after the invasion, a paper called “Declassified and Released Excerpts of the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq,” was released that began to hint at things the public wasn’t told in October 2002. Lines like We have low confidence in our ability to assess when Saddam Hussein might use WMD stood out.

Only in 2015, when the 2002 NIE was finally declassified, did we find out how badly our own intel had been “sexed up.” A remarkable array of crude tricks was used to manipulate opinion toward invasion. A little white-out transformed “We judge that Iraq has continued its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs” into the far more convincing pre-invasion line: “Iraq has continued its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.”

The early NIE also redacted dissenting opinions from the Department of Energy, the Air Force, and the intelligence wing of the State Department, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), reduced to a distant implication in lines like “most analysts assess” or “most analysts believe.” Officials even added lines for the public’s benefit only about Saddam having biological agents capable of threatening “the US Homeland.” It was all a scam.

The manipulation of Iraq intelligence remains, for modern Democrats, the archetypal corruption story of our century. It’s the unforgivable sin that sullied Bush forever in our eyes and also, incidentally, helped launch “constitutional lawyer” and Iraq critic Barack Obama to the White House over Hillary Clinton, who saw the classified NIE and voted for the war anyway. The “sexed up” British scandal will forever be a black mark on Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair, once slated for historical honors as a paradigm-shifting “Third Way” politician. It therefore makes no sense that Democrats and progressives on both sides of the pond shouldn’t be horrified by the story of how the 2017 ICA was corrupted, a tale that we also learned this week followed an equally upsetting campaign of political espionage targeting at least 26 Trump aides and associates.

The story released in Racket and Public today is remarkably similar to the 2002 disaster, and likely worse. In the 2017 “Intelligence Community Assessment” which is the subject of today’s piece, dissent wasn’t just confined to the classified version and kept from the public, but rather pre-empted entirely. Here, the State Department’s INR was barred from participating in the analysis process, as was the enormous Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which has coverage responsibility for a supposed key player in the Russian influence story, the GRU. This is why it was, in fact, a big deal when news agencies erroneously reported that “17 agencies” backed the ICA instead of three, as Clapper later conceded in testimony. An assessment of Russian activity based on opinions from all 17 agencies would almost certainly have been as riddled with dissent as the Iraq NIE.

Former Ambassador to Russia Jack Matlock claimed years ago that the INR was kept out because “it did, in fact, have a different opinion” on the central question of Russia’s motives. One source I spoke with for this story said the same thing, while another suggested CIA chief John Brennan barred the INR out of concern about leaks. The structure of the informal ICA, a more “agile” intelligence product that’s come in vogue only recently, allowed Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to create a “hand-picked” team of analysts that included the likes of Peter Strzok, the senior FBI counterintelligence official who ran the investigation targeting Trump. Brennan couldn’t secure unanimity even within this group, as Admiral Michael Rogers of the NSA and at least two senior CIA Russia experts refused to sign off on the conclusion that the “influence campaign” was undertaken to help Trump. Even James Comey didn’t endorse this crucial idea until mid-December, 2016. In fact, the FBI leaked statements to the contrary to the New York Times days before the election.

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Featured image: Former CIA directors George Tenet (left), and John Brennan (center), and Gina Haspel (right) at the funeral of George H.W. Bush in 2018

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Over the past four months I have carried out my daily morning scan of the major online news websites increasingly concerned over what I would be seeing given the mainstream media’s reluctance to report honestly and the persistent management by government propaganda mills of what is leaked to the journalists.

News regarding what is taking place with Russia-Ukraine suffered initially as the war turned sharply in Moscow’s favor late last year, so much so that the likely outcome is only being challenged on neocon dominated sites like American Enterprise Institute, Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the National Review. President Joe Biden and team are now only struggling to raise $61 billion for Volodymyr Zelensky to prolong the conflict through the US election later this year so Biden can appear to be a strong “wartime” president fighting hard to defend the United States from the threatening Red Hordes. That the money will essentially drop down the hole of Ukrainian corruption seems to bother no one in the White House, but the game goes on with Biden saying

“This bipartisan bill sends a clear message to Ukrainians and to our partners and to our allies around the world: America can be trusted, America can be relied upon, and America stands up for freedom. We stand strong for our allies. We never bow down to anyone, and certainly not to Vladimir Putin. So, let’s get on with this….Are [we] going to side with terror and tyranny? Are [we] going to stand with Ukraine, or are [we] going to stand with Putin? Will we stand with America or – or with Trump?”

The president is also currently pumping the line that he is somehow saving or protecting “democracy.” The fact that Ukraine, banning political parties and even religious groups and the Russian language, is no democracy does not seem to impact on the narrative. And don’t forget how the Zelensky government recently murdered American journalist Gonzalo Lira for his exercising freedom of the press!

Biden argues that standing by America’s “allies,” even when they are not actual allies, is essential to maintain confidence in the United States and its leadership mission to create a “rules based international order” and thereby save the world. Beyond Ukraine, there is, of course, America’s “best friend” and “greatest ally” Israel which also is no democracy as Palestinian citizens have limited rights, with those living on the Israeli army occupied West Bank having effectively no protection from being arrested arbitrarily or even shot on sight by rampaging soldiers and settlers, who fear no consequences for killing and robbing Arabs because there are no consequences.

The bombing of Gaza into the stone age continues with hardly any coverage in the mainstream media as if it is an atrocity that will disappear from the collective conscience if no one refers to it in spite of the rows of dead women and children. The US and European media meanwhile blithely report every new “Hamas atrocity” promoted by the habitually lying Israeli Army (IDF) as if it were the truth while Biden is pulling out the stops to provide the cash ($14 billion) and weapons to enable the IDF to kill more Palestinians while at the same time mock-mourning the slaughter of the innocents that is taking place. The ghastly death toll is a direct result of Joe’s lack of any action to force the Israelis to change course, which he has the leverage to do with a phone call to Benjamin Netanyahu threatening to cut off the cash, arms and political support. But the administration has made plain that it has no intention to do anything like that.

But even given all of that excitement last week there is one story that stands out, the video of former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo in Israel grinning and dancing with celebrating Israeli soldiers, who presumably have just returned from Gaza after having had the pleasure of blasting a few more score of civilians, including a large percentage of children.

The Israeli Army’s latest stunt is to position snipers and tanks around the last functioning major medical facility in Rafah district in the south of Gaza, the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The Palestinians trying to survive in Gaza were previously ordered by Israel to go to Rafah where they would be “safe” but it was a self-serving lie and the military then proceeded to bomb and shoot civilians, even when they were trying to surrender, and also destroying infrastructure like hospitals and schools to make the area uninhabitable. The army in Gaza’s snipers have now joined in the fun by shooting doctors and patients inside the building and on the grounds to force Nasser Hospital to evacuate and shut down. They followed up on the shooting gallery by storming the hospital, allegedly in search of “hostages.” It is all part of what is developing as Netanyahu has announced that the ground invasion of Rafah will soon begin even though the encaged Palestinians, who are already starving due to the Israeli blockade of humanitarian aid, have nowhere to go and many more thousands will die one way or another.

As a taste of what is to come that is even more bizarre than what has already transpired, Israel’s “most moral army in the world” has now also gone into the entertainment business. It has begun to invite groups of Israeli civilians into detention centers and prisons that have been holding West Bank Palestinian prisoners as well as detainees from the Gaza Strip. The civilians are able to observe the detainees, stripped to their underwear, and laugh and jeer as the men are being beaten, humiliated and tortured, with many of the viewers also allowed to film what is happening on their own cell phones to share with their friends and families. Mike Pompeo, who is a Christian Zionist of dispensationalist persuasion, believes that the former Palestine belongs to the Israelis because it says so in the Bible, which he has carefully “studied.” He also, while Trump’s Secretary of State, declared that the US no longer regards the illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank as “illegal” and he similarly approved of the Israeli annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights as perfectly acceptable under international law, which it is not. Wonder what Mike as a self-identified pious Christian thinks about all those dead and mutilated Palestinian babies if he ever chooses to think about it at all?

Also in the running for god-awful narrative of the week was a piece claiming that the successful first step by way of a majority vote in the House of Representatives to bring about the richly deserved impeachment of Department of Homeland Security’s ghastly Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday was the result of an “antisemitic conspiracy theory” because he is a “Sephardic Jew,” not due to his own incompetence which he has been demonstrating regularly for the past three years. The deep hole of depression that I crawled into as I watched the fat twerp Pompeo cavorting while the midget Mayorkas touted his Jewish credentials drove me to rethink the whole issue of US foreign and national security policy. I came to the conclusion that the players are caricatures and it should not be taken seriously and should instead be regarded as a comedy routine, something like Monty Python but terribly lethal and without the intelligence and wit of John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman.

To be sure the Biden administration can always be counted upon to produce a laugh, particularly when it brings on the clowns named Anthony Blinken, Victoria Nuland, Karine Jean-Pierre and Jake Sullivan. There has been a lot of funny stuff lately, most particularly the chatter about a solution to the Palestinian genocide, even though Biden seems quite comfortable to let the Israelis finish their ethnic cleansing of Gaza before anyone looks for a place willing acquire two million more stateless and homeless Palestinians. Former presidential aspirant and totally owned Zionist stooge Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has already declared that no Palestinians should be allowed into the US as refugees as they are “antisemites.”

Nevertheless, Biden and Blinken’s State Department want to come up with some kind of formula, if only because the worldwide blowback due to the White House’s unflinching support for Israeli brutality has begun to have consequences as it constitutes complicity in crimes against humanity. Some kind of limited sovereignty, disarmed for sure, allowed to Palestine is envisioned but Netanyahu and his political allies, long opposed to a two-state solution, have recently repeatedly rejected proposals for any Palestinian sovereign entity. Israel is even now using its formidable lobby and international press/narrative control to work assiduously against any diplomatic recognition of a Palestinian state by individual countries or as a full member at the UN. Not surprisingly, the greatest effort to keep things on track is being directed against voices raised in support of Palestine in the United States. Biden is listening to be sure and is having both Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan carefully coordinate every step the administration takes with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs and former ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer. Even though Israel and Netanyahu definitely hold the whip hand, the president is nevertheless inevitably looking over his shoulder and is fearful of alienation of voters with the national election coming up if the carnage in Gaza continues. Not for the first time the endless farce of US internal politics will likely at least somewhat influence what eventually takes place in countries six thousand miles away. And given Biden’s propensity to avoid doing the right thing, one can be pretty sure that the result won’t be pretty!

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This article was originally published on The Unz Review.

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is [email protected].

Featured image is from TUR

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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A number of Freedom Convoy protesters who had their bank accounts frozen by the Trudeau Government’s invocation of Emergencies Act have sued the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland.

The development comes just weeks after a Federal Court judge ruled that Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, which gave the government unprecedented power, was a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Two lawsuits were announced on Wednesday, the first of which was announced by lawyer Keith Wilson.  

BREAKING: On the 2-year anniversary of the Federal Government illegally invoking war measures against its citizens and targeting key protestors in Ottawa by freezing their bank accounts, today Tamara Lich, Chris Barber, Tom Marazzo, Danny Bulford and other protestors who were targeted by @JustinTrudeau and @cafreeland have filed lawsuits against the Federal Government,” he stated on X.

“Sec. 24 of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives Canadians the right to sue their government for damages when Charter rights are violated.”

Wilson further stated that the lawsuits seeks $2 million in damages for each plaintiff.

Hours later on Wednesday’s Valentine’s Day — the two year anniversary that Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act — a second class-action lawsuit consisting of twenty plaintiffs was announced, this time by Loberg Ector LLP, a law firm based out of Calgary, Alberta.

Loberg Ector’s Facebook account stated that

“The Plaintiffs in this action seek compensation and related relief arising from the unjustified and unconstitutional actions of the Liberal government, as well as the actions of certain police agencies and Canadian financial institutions who followed the unlawful orders of the Liberal government, and other defendants who participated in or promoted these actions.”

Tamara Lich, one of the main organizers of the 2022 Ottawa protest, celebrated the day by wishing social media users a “Happy Emergencies Act Day!”

“I hope you all look back and fondly remember how your government shot you with rubber bullets and tear gas for your own good!”

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Featured image is from TCS


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

Reviews

This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon

In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia

In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig 

Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac

A reading of  Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late.  You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

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Why Does Israel Destroy Hospitals?

February 16th, 2024 by Dr. Paul Larudee

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Hospitals are prime strategic targets of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The Nasser hospital in Rafah is the only major one still standing, along with a handful of smaller ones. All the rest have been destroyed, along with many of the patients and medical staff. Many have been slaughtered, while the helpless have been left to die, like the premature babies in their incubators, simply abandoned to the inevitable.

Doctors and other personnel have been taken captive for an unknown length of time. Even the Nasser hospital is no longer functioning, having been taken over by Israeli soldiers, and all its patients and medical staff expelled. Its existence as a structure is a mere technicality. It is no longer a hospital, and it wouldn’t be the first to be exploded into yet another pile of rubble. 

These attacks are not random, nor are the ones against bakeries, schools, and infrastructure, including water, sewage and electricity. Although more than half of all the buildings in Gaza are now rubble or unusable, the ratio for hospitals is much higher. Why? 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that his objective is to destroy Hamas, but he is in fact destroying everything but Hamas.

He knows perfectly well that Hamas is not using the hospitals, nor any of the other places laid waste by the Israeli military, armed with inexhaustible US munitions. To the extent that he even bothers to use Hamas as an excuse, few believe him anymore.

If he wants to find Hamas, he knows where they are: deep underground, in hundreds of miles of their armored and fortified hi-tech tunnels.

The 10,000 tons of bombs dropped on Gaza thus far have not even been aimed at Hamas or the tunnels. Israel is casualty averse, and they know that fighting Hamas leads to casualties that will hurt Netanyahu’s popularity, already in the cellar. This is why their target has been the entire population of Gaza. Massive killing of Palestinian civilians, more than 2/3 of them women and children, make it look like he is accomplishing something.

This helps to explain the hospitals. If there is no place to treat the wounded and the sick, more Palestinians die. If your real target is the entire Palestinian population, this is an effective way to do it.

Destroying hospitals has a multiplier effect upon the death toll. Furthermore, it is mainly the hospitals that compile the statistics of Palestinian dead and wounded for the Gaza Ministry of Health. If there are no hospitals, more people will die anonymously, reducing the evidence of genocide. 

The multiplier effect of hospitals on the death toll also works for water, sewage, shelter, fuel, and of course food. The removal of such facilities and provisions causes deaths that tend not to be included as war dead. If Netanyahu’s objective is to decrease – or entirely eliminate – the inhabitants of Gaza, these are much more effective ways to do it. Granted, Zyklon-B might be even more effective, but there are limits to what even Netanyahu might be willing to use.

This is not speculation. Netanyahu and most of his government have publicly declared their intentions. Quotes and videos of their genocidal purpose have been used by South Africa’s attorneys to win an injunction from the International Court of Justice.  Netanyahu is running out of options. Hamas presented its ceasefire/peace proposal, which (as predicted) is unacceptable to Israel, because it fails to advance Israel’s plans for either territorial expansion or ethnic cleansing, or both. 

Israel is losing the combat war in Gaza, thanks to the brilliant Hamas strategy of 1) making itself impervious to air bombardment, 2) an ability to manufacture its own weapons locally, designed specifically for Israeli systems, and 3) impeccable training of fighters capable of acting in small units, with intimate knowledge of both their enemy and Israeli weapons systems, as well as their own. Israel is not prepared to take significant casualties among its own population, and apparently its 5000-6000 mercenaries are not prepared to go on suicide missions.

That leads, once again, to genocide as the only strategy. That’s why Netanyahu is planning to up his game by destroying Rafah city, the tiny pen into which he has herded most of the population, swelling its numbers some 400%, most of them in tents or under tarpaulins providing flimsy protection from the rain and cold.

An Israeli attack will probably yield a lot more casualties per day than heretofore, to which Netanyahu can point with pride among his dwindling followers.

But the US can’t appear to condone such actions, so its humanitarian-minded president has asked his Israeli counterpart to provide an evacuation plan for the civilians. Netanyahu has agreed, and when asked where they can go, he points to newly bombed out expanses in what used to be the neighboring city of Khan Younis. Now his friend, Genocide Joe, can rest easy. ICJ? No problem. Israel still has time to submit its progress report to the Court on ending its “plausibly genocidal” actions.

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Paul Larudee is a retired academic and current administrator of a nonprofit human rights and humanitarian aid organization. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Dr Suleiman Qaoud surveys the damage at the Rantisi Specialist Hospital, part of the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza City, following Israeli missile attacks on November 6, 2023 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

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In a compelling piece of live television, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was recently confronted by a COVID-19 vaccine injury victim during an unscripted question and answer session. Describing the pain and trauma he suffered, audience member John Watt told the Prime Minister how he had been left with no help at all after the vaccine caused him to develop a heart condition. Already under pressure over his links to a hedge fund that has seen massive returns from an investment in COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna, Sunak was like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

Broadcast on the GB News channel during what had been billed as a ‘People’s Forum’, the incident occurred while Sunak was being posed a mostly innocuous series of questions by members of a studio audience. But the atmosphere quickly changed when Watt stood up and demanded that the Prime Minister look him in the eyes. Stating that he knows people who have had limbs amputated as a result of COVID-19 vaccines, Watt asked why he had had to set up a support group to look after those affected.

Visibly furious, Watt also asked Sunak why tens of thousands of British COVID-19 vaccine victims had been left to rot. Telling the Prime Minister that the country’s so-called ‘Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme’ was not fit for purpose, he said that in Scotland alone more than 30 thousand people have had adverse reactions to the shots. Tellingly, Watt’s contribution was given an enthusiastic round of applause by the assembled audience.

Predictably, Sunak’s response largely avoided Watt’s concerns. Despite claiming that he was very sorry to hear about Watt’s circumstances, it was quickly clear that straight answers to his questions would not be forthcoming. As Sunak’s evasiveness became apparent, Watt interrupted saying that he and other victims had been silenced on social media. “We are the most silenced people in this country,” he said.

The event then briefly descended into chaos with another vaccine-injured audience member speaking up and the television program’s presenter desperately trying to regain control over the situation. Despite being told that the Prime Minister would look at his concerns, Watts will have heard little to reassure him.

Sunak’s Alleged Links to Moderna

The reasons behind Sunak’s failure to address this issue properly are not simply down to politics, as he has recently been facing scrutiny over his connections to a hedge fund, Theleme Partners, which has seen substantial gains from an investment in COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna. A co-founder of Theleme Partners before entering politics in 2013, Sunak says his involvement with the fund is managed through a blind trust, meaning he supposedly has no knowledge or control over its investments. Nevertheless, questions persist regarding whether he personally benefited from the dramatic rise in Moderna’s share price during the pandemic.

Despite repeated criticism, however, Sunak maintains he is unaware of any financial gains. But with publicly available evidence indicating that the Theleme Partners investment in Moderna is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, concerns over potential conflicts of interest have continued.

Only rarely are senior politicians confronted by the victims of COVID-19 vaccines. The fact that this latest incident occurred on live television makes it all the more remarkable. Realizing that the handling of the pandemic is coming under increased worldwide scrutiny, Prime Minister Sunak may be less keen on taking live unscripted questions in future.

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This article was originally published on Dr. Rath Health Foundation.

Executive Director of the Dr. Rath Health Foundation and one of the coauthors of our explosive book, “The Nazi Roots of the ‘Brussels EU’”, Paul is also our expert on the Codex Alimentarius Commission and has had eye-witness experience, as an official observer delegate, at its meetings. You can find Paul on Twitter at @paulanthtaylor

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from DRHF

War Emerging Increasingly as Existential Threat

February 16th, 2024 by Bharat Dogra

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War has always been a source of immense human distress. What is more important to point out is that its capacity to cause distress and destruction has been increasing in very dangerous ways.

The World Report on Violence and Health, published by the WHO, has provided the following information on deaths caused by war and conflict during the last five centuries—

  • 16th century—1.6 million
  • 17th century—6.1 million
  • 18th century—7.0 million
  • 19th century—19.4 million
  • 20th century—109.7 million

Of course population has also been increasing but the almost six-fold increase from the 19th to the 20th century is deeply disturbing. This figure indicates that over a million perished per year on average during the 20th century in wars and conflicts. What is more, this figure may not include all of the mortality caused by many indirect impacts of wars and conflicts. 

As the Brown University’s estimates for the ‘War on Terror’ of the 21st century have made clear, if indirect impacts of war are included then mortality can be many times more than the deaths caused directly by war and conflict.

These estimates have stated that the ‘war on terror’ claimed about 0.9 million lives directly, but if indirectly caused mortality is included then this figure rises much more menacingly to 4.5 million. In other words, in this context, indirectly caused deaths are about four times the directly caused deaths. This figure does not include all the countries ravaged by the war on terror, and needs updating too.

This is a reminder that the enormous death toll of the 20th century is being maintained in the 21st century, more or less, if we add up the mortality of all the dozens of wars and conflicts of the world during the first 23 years of the 21st century.

What is more disturbing is that talk of the possibility of the third world war and a nuclear war has been heard more during the last two years than in the several decades preceding this, largely due to the possibility of a direct conflict between the USA/NATO and Russia, taking off from the ongoing proxy war in Ukraine, and to a lesser extent the possibility of a direct war between the USA and China. An even broader war with NATO, a few Asian allies and possibly Australia on one side and the ‘axis’ of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea on the other side has also been discussed as a more distant possibility which, however, cannot be entirely ruled out, even though it would surely be a complete disaster.

Einstein, when asked about what a third world war would look like responded that he does not know how the third war would be fought, but the fourth one would be fought with stones. He was referring of course to the reality of wars becoming so destructive that the third world war would in fact ruin the world almost entirely.

Wars have become even more destructive since Einstein spoke these words, and their destructiveness appears destined to increase further, as more and more resources and human ingenuity are being diverted to increase destructive capabilities instead of constructive ones, even though millions and millions remain deprived of even basic needs and the requirements of ecological repair and rehabilitation are perhaps the most urgent.

Hence while the 20th century witnessed a six fold increase in war and conflict related mortality compared to the 19th century , the 21st century may witness something unique and unprecedented in the already highly destructive history of war and conflict—it may witness wars with the capacity of wiping out, in terms of direct and indirect impacts, most of the life on earth and almost the entire human life, apart from disrupting very badly the basic life-enabling and life-nurturing conditions of the planet.

This would be the inevitable result if only 10 per cent of the existing stockpile of nuclear weapons are used. However even more destructive weapons of mass destruction are being developed, and due to a relentless quest for dominance that appears to be blind to all its grave dangers, the biggest military and economic powers are more frequently seen to be on the verge of direct confrontation and war.

Hence this writer has been arguing consistently for quite some time that the present time is not just for incremental reform (although even that would be welcome) but instead for bravely and steadily moving towards a no-war future. In such a future scenario, no soldier or officer or armed forces (army, air force or navy) would suffer any loss of job or income but would merely be diverted, with some training, towards jobs relating to ecological rehabilitation of land and oceans, to preventing and reducing disasters and to various kinds of rescue ad life-saving efforts.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine, A Day in 2071, Protecting Earth for Children, Earth without Borders and Planet in Peril. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Israel Lays Siege to Gaza Hospital as Rafah Stares Death in the Face

February 16th, 2024 by Maureen Clare Murphy

Weaponising Antisemitism: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

February 16th, 2024 by Antony Lerman

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Thousands of Israelis gathered in Jerusalem on 28 January for a far-right conference.

It called for the Jewish resettlement of the Gaza Strip and the transfer of the population living there, described dubiously using the euphemism “a legal way to voluntarily emigrate them”.

Featuring as key speakers were prominent extremist government leaders. This included Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister from the Jewish Power Party, and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich from the Religious Zionist Party.

Their scheme, which members of the far-right Israeli government were floating from the earliest days of the Gaza war, constitutes ethnic cleansing.

Any Palestinians remaining in Gaza would be subjected to the extension into the territory of the state-sanctioned apartheid prevailing in pre-1967 Israel, post-1967 West Bank and the Golan Heights.

This genocidal plan was hailed by Likud’s tourism minister Haim Katz as an “opportunity to rebuild and expand the land of Israel”.

‘Antisemitic Bias’

This signified a comprehensive rejection of the 26 January decision of the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) that “Israel must take action to prevent genocidal violence by its armed forces” and “prevent and punish” the incitement to genocide.

It was also an endorsement of the flood of accusations of antisemitic treatment of Israel that the ICJ decision provoked. First out of the blocks were Israeli government representatives. The court displayed “antisemitic bias”, they declared.

Leaders of the J7, the large US Jewish Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism, concurred. The ICJ has been “captured by antisemitic propaganda”, wrote Jewish Chronicle editor Jake Wallis Simons in the Telegraph.

Such a deployment of weaponised antisemitism to deflect criticism of Israel’s responses to the Hamas 7/10 attacks on Jewish settlements and Israeli army units beyond the security fence on the eastern side of the Gaza strip was evident even as news of the atrocities was still emerging.

And reaction to the ICJ decision came as no surprise. After all, this is a gift that keeps on giving—using past experience of anti-Jewish persecution to neutralise criticism of, and generate sympathy for, the Jewish state—and is decades old.

Propaganda Offensive

As I have analysed in my book Whatever Happened to Antisemitism? this ploy is remarkably adaptable to practically any Israeli violation of the human rights of Palestinians.

It was deployed from the first day to describe Hamas’s motives, and continuously since then to undermine and deflect demands for an immediate ceasefire.

Within hours, in what had all the hallmarks of a coordinated propaganda offensive, Israeli government officials and politicians were calling the attacks “pogroms” and characterising the events as the “deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust”.

And these descriptions continue to frame public discourse and understanding of the 7/10 events.

Pogrom is a Russian word referring to violent attacks by local non-Jewish populations on Jews in the Russian Empire and in other countries in the 19th century. They were perpetrated by the powerful oppressor against the weak and vulnerable.

However grotesque, Hamas’s attack was precisely the opposite: “an unprecedented display of anti-colonial violence”, wrote Tareq Baconi in a comment for Al Shabaka, the international Palestinian think tank.

It was an attack on what was always a vulnerable target that symbolised the anti-Palestinian racist regime, the powerful Israeli state, driving subjugation of Gaza’s population.

‘Trick We Always Use’

As for the Holocaust comparison, such apocalyptic language distorts and trivialises the Nazi genocide of Jews.

The late outspoken and respected head of Israel’s then most left-wing party Meretz in the 1990s, Shulamit Aloni, candidly condemned it “as a trick, we always use it. When from Europe somebody is criticizing Israel, then we bring up the Holocaust.”

If we compare the weaponisation of antisemitism then, when it was still in its infancy, with its dimensions today, we find that the role the Holocaust is shamelessly made to play in whitewashing Israeli apartheid and justifying ongoing dispossession and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians has become increasingly significant.

The institution through which this was made possible is the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and the “working definition” of antisemitism it adopted in 2016, known worldwide simply by the organisation’s acronym: IHRA.

Irrespective of what’s in the definition, who would question something disseminated by a body with ‘Holocaust Remembrance’ in its name? Especially since the definition’s promoters virtually decreed that it was sacreligious to do so.

And yet most of the examples of antisemitism the definition contains serve the purpose of justifying the curtailing of the right of Palestinians to speak publicly about their experiences of ethnic cleansing and ongoing dispossession, and do nothing to protect Jews from real antisemitism.

Protected Behaviour

Even before 7/10, standard antisemitism narratives characterised Palestinians as almost exclusively associated with terrorism.

Today, “Palestinian” and “Hamas terrorist” are often seen as synonymous. Therefore, to suggest Palestinians might be deserving of rights, sovereignty, and solidarity is itself an expression of support for violence against Jews, writes the journalist and academic Natasha Roth-Rowland.

Preventing this and fighting it when it happens “essentially posits Israeli state violence—ethnic cleansing, mass incarceration, extrajudicial killing, land theft—as a form of protected behaviour because it is being carried out by Jews”.

As some plausibly argue, one manifestation of the redefinition of antisemitism as anti-Zionism is that antisemitism is no longer about “who hates Jews”, but “who Jews hate”.

Anti-Zionism

The continued success of weaponisation relies on a distorted and instrumentalised view of Jewish history: the notion that, on the one hand, antisemitism is eternal and unchanging, and yet on the other, anti-Zionism is the ‘new antisemitism’.

Either way, the politicised anti-antisemitism organisations constantly encourage people to believe that antisemitic annihilation is just around the corner.

The first, eternalist understanding of the Jewish past, described as the lachrymose view, ignores antisemitism’s contingent and historically specific forms.

As for anti-Zionism, nothing could be more Jewish. Jews were the first anti-Zionists, overwhelmingly remained so until the Second World War, and hundreds of thousands remain anti-Zionist to this day.

However, it serves Israel’s interests to continue to cultivate the view that Jews everywhere are equally and eternally vulnerable, even though Zionism was supposed to bring Jew-hatred to an end.

When so many seem to welcome being milked for sympathy because of doubtful claims of ever-rising antisemitism, why not continue to instrumentalise the discourse of Holocaust and pogroms as clear and present dangers?

For Israeli leaders, every military confrontation, every battle with Hamas or Hezbollah is on behalf of the ‘Jewish people’. Never mind that making no distinction between the state of Israel and Jews worldwide is an antisemitic belief according to the IHRA.

Ephraim Mirvis, the British United Synagogue’s chief rabbi, certainly hadn’t read the script when he praised the Israeli soldiers committing genocide in Gaza in the name of eradicating antisemitism, as “our incredible heroic soldiers”.

Could it be any more obvious that weaponised antisemitism is a clear and present danger for Jews not calling for equal rights for all from the river to the sea?

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Antony Lerman is a Senior Fellow at the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue, Vienna, and Honorary Fellow at the Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, Southampton University. He is the author of Whatever Happened to Antisemitism? Redefinition and the Myth of the ‘Collective Jew’ (Pluto Press 2022) and The Making and Unmaking of a Zionist: A Personal and Political Journey (Pluto Press 2012).

Featured image: Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo: Valeriano Di Domenico / WEF)

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Dear President Biden:

Do you not have a conscience when it comes to the genocide in Gaza?

I have read countless anecdotes of your genuine empathy for human suffering during your decades of public service. Does the slaughter of more than 28,000 Palestinians in Gaza—primarily children and women—not stir your conscience? More than 50,000 injured, hundreds of thousands without access to medical care, thousands buried under the rubble, millions of displaced and starving Palestinians cowering from the terror unleashed by the IDF and its patron the United States of America. Does it not awaken a glimmer of mercy or compassion in your hardened soul? Does it not create even a minute breach in your “unwavering” support of Israel?

Do you not have a moral compass when it comes to the genocide in Gaza?

I recently read a profile that described how your father educated you and your siblings about the Holocaust over the dinner table:

“My dad taught us about the horror of the Shoah,” Biden explainedlast month at a Hanukkah celebration, repeating a well-worn tale. “It awakened in me and my brothers and sisters and our children a sense… that this can happen again.”

Sadly, Mr. President, “It”—another holocaust of Palestinians—is not only happening before our very eyes, you, Sir, are one of the two key perpetrators of this genocide. As U.S. citizens and taxpayers, we also share the guilt of being complicit in this atrocity. But for your unwavering military, diplomatic, monetary, and moral support to Israel, the genocide would cease immediately. Mr. President, the culpability lies squarely on your shoulders and those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was emboldened by your unquestioning “embrace” of the horrors visited upon the Palestinians. You have failed to call for a permanent cease-fire.

Do you not have any personal sense of dignity or for the office of President of the United States?

Netanyahu publicly and defiantly disparages your suggested solutions and efforts to put an end to the genocide in Gaza. A human with any sense of self respect and dignity would interpret that as a grave insult, especially given the decades of your personal friendship and support demonstrated for the State of Israel. Despite Netanyahu spitting in your face, you publicly refuse to condemn the virulent hate and violence perpetrated by the politicians and military of the State of Israel. Personal dignity aside, Israel’s actions are demeaning to the office of the President of the United States. The United States ensures the very existence of Israel in the region with billions if not trillions in taxpayer-funded military and other aid since its founding in 1948. When pro-Palestine protesters use the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” it is deemed genocidal by Zionists. However, when Netanyahu states that “the state of Israel has to control the entire area from the river to the sea” in direct contravention of your proposed two-state solution, why do you not take umbrage at this willful flouting of your guidance as POTUS?

Have you lost your political acumen, or do you genuinely not care to be reelected?

I am a lifelong Democrat. Yet, I actively support the #AbandonBiden movement in the 2024 presidential election and will continue to support it and not cast my vote for you in November 2024 unless you call for a cease-fire now! As one of the longest-serving politicians in public service, how have you lost sight of the political peril that awaits you in November? Polling suggests that a majority of Americans, especially Democrats, support a cease-fire now. I am just a layperson. I am certain your staffers in the executive branch and your reelection campaign have apprised you of the risks associated with not standing on the right side of history. Billions across the globe now get information about this unfolding genocide directly on their digital devices. The days of rationing government-controlled messaging through mainstream media to the public about major world events is over.

You have become as reviled a figure as Netanyahu in the eyes of billions across the globe for butchering innocent Palestinian civilians. I urge you to reset your moral and political bearings and use the leverage of being POTUS and a staunch supporter of Israel to negotiate a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. I joined the hundreds of thousands of protesters in Washington D.C. on Nov 4 demanding a cease-fire now. I marched with them to the gates of the White House to convey our horror and opposition to this unfolding genocide. Sadly, the killing of innocent civilians has continued over three more months. History repeats itself incessantly. It would be tragic if your commendable political legacy is marred by your inability to bring about an immediate cessation of the suffering of innocent Palestinians and the war in Gaza. Let Gaza not be akin to LBJ’s Vietnam.

I trust your inherent goodness and compassion will prevail. I trust the conviction and courage you have so ably demonstrated in championing for the public good will compel you to take affirmative and immediate action to stop the genocide in Gaza. One does not have to share a faith to have empathy for the dying and the suffering Palestinians. Our shared humanity must make us champions for Peace.

[From Common Dreams: Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.]

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Kalindi Bhatt is a CPA by training with a long career in accounting and finance. She cares deeply about human rights, the environment, and social justice. Bhatt hold a JD and LLM in Environmental Law from the Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law and is an advocate and volunteer for progressive policy and peace.

Featured image: People sheltering at the Saint Porphyrius Orthodox church which was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, killing 18 including several children [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Introduction

The Washington foreign policy establishment is on the precipice of making yet another strategic blunder.

The Senate is poised to ram through the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act. This legislation will provide the president the authority to confiscate Russia’s frozen sovereign assets in the United States and transfer them to Ukraine for its reconstruction.

Confiscating Russia’s sovereign assets is an act of economic war. Seizing and transferring these assets to Ukraine may make Washington feel virtuous, but it will not bring peace. Passage of this bill will only reinforce the view of hardliners in Moscow that Russia’s war lies not just with Ukraine, but really with the United States and the West. Any hope that the United States and Russia could work toward stabilizing or improving relations will subsequently be destroyed.

There is no justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but enacting this bill will make peace less likely. Ukrainians have courageously defended their country for nearly two years, but even Ukraine’s former top military commander General Valery Zaluzhny admits the war is now a stalemate.

Russia’s frozen assets could be used as a bargaining chip during negotiations, but once Congress provides the president the authority to seize Russian assets, there will be immense political pressure on him to carry out the policy to avoid looking weak. President Biden was recently pilloried by the media and members of my party for returning frozen Iranian assets in exchange for five American hostages. He is unlikely to make that decision again.

Confiscation will only convince Moscow that there is no negotiated settlement to be had with Ukraine. The result will be a destroyed Ukraine. More Ukrainian soldiers and civilians will die, and more cities and towns will be turned to rubble.

History is replete with examples of economic warfare turning into violent hostilities. Many historians believe the U.S. embargo of 1807, which was intended to punish France and England for their aggressions at sea, led to the War of 1812. Likewise, FDR’s decision to freeze Japan’s sovereign assets and implement an embargo on oil and gasoline exports led to Tokyo’s decision to attack Pearl Harbor.

The past teaches us the folly of embracing every proposed act of revenge. U.S. senators are duty-bound to ask whether our actions will ensure American security and prosperity. In regard to the REPO Act, the Russians already answered that question for us. Moscow says they will retaliate in kind against the United States and our allies, with some estimates claiming upward of $288 billion in Western assets that Moscow could confiscate.

Nicholas Mulder, an assistant professor of history at Cornell University, highlights the danger of the “destabilizing precedent that western countries would set by seizing assets to end a war they are not openly involved in.” Professor Mulder states that such an action “would broaden the coercive actions that states could take for disputes to which they are not a direct party.”

Confiscating Russia’s assets will also certainly convince other countries, including China, that the United States can no longer be trusted as the guarantor of the global economy. They will seek to move away from the dollar and hold their reserves in other currencies. This process of de-dollarization will be an unmitigated disaster as it will degrade America’s financial strength and ensure the prosperity Americans have come to expect is no longer attainable.

In addition, this bill will hand the Russians another tool to fuel resentment against the United States. American leaders speak of a “rules-based international order” but the theory that the United States can confiscate the assets of another country we are not at war with is legally dubious.

Professor Mulder argues that “economic reprisals are the prerogative of injured states, not of third parties.” Rather than compel respect for international law, our actions will demonstrate to our adversaries that we are flouting it. This bill will be used by the Kremlin to show the world that while Washington demands that others follow the rules, we are happy to break them whenever we see fit.

In a multipolar world, Washington can no longer expect to act with impunity, particularly when dealing with a nuclear power. We understood the serious dangers our country faced during the Cold War. But three decades of repeated foreign policy disasters proves that Washington’s foreign policy establishment is badly broken.

A good way to start on the road to fixing that broken foreign policy is rejecting this disastrous bill.

*

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Sen. Rand Paul is the junior Senator from Kentucky, and a Republican. He is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Featured image is from RS

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***

It was a night of terror in Rafah. Early Monday morning, the Israeli military rained bombs on the city in southern Gaza that borders Egypt. The ground shook, the sound of fighter jets dropping bombs so intense and persistent that some described it as a “fire belt,” a term Palestinians use to describe the prolonged targeting of nearby areas. At least 100 people were killed in the bombings, which some of Rafah’s inhabitants said were among the worst of the war.

They would know. Rafah is the last available refuge for at least 1.3 million Palestinians who have fled their homes since October. They have been repeatedly displaced from across the rest of the occupied territory, making their way to an area that the Israeli military had designated a “safe zone.”

An Israeli military official described Monday’s bombing as a “diversion,” part of an effort to rescue two Israeli hostages. The intense assault appeared to be a prelude to many more horrors to come, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that a long-feared ground invasion of the city is imminent. He ordered a mass evacuation of civilians there — a prospect that is, simply put, impossible, given the number of displaced people currently in Rafah and the fact that there is nowhere left to go.

Since the beginning of the war, Rafah has transformed into a tent city that United Nations officials warned is a “pressure cooker of despair.” As the number of people killed, missing, or wounded during Israel’s four-month war recently topped 100,000, some 1.9 million people — more than 85 percent of Gaza’s population — have been internally displaced. The vast majority of them are crammed at the border with Egypt, where they face an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe that has been compounded in recent days by the uncertainty of Rafah’s viability as the last refuge in Gaza.

In the days preceding Monday’s assault, humanitarian and human rights organizations, as well as the U.S. government, had issued urgent warnings that a full-scale attack on the city would be the most devastating yet.

“This escalation would significantly exacerbate the ongoing genocidal acts perpetrated by the Israeli military and authorities against the Palestinian population in Gaza,” a coalition of Palestinian human rights groups warned last week, noting that the feared ground invasion would be in violation of the measures ordered by the International Court of Justice last month.

International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, meanwhile, issued a rare warning on Monday implying that the latest assault on Rafah might amount to war crimes under the court’s jurisdiction. It was a notable statement from Khan, who has mostly remained silent on Israeli actions during the current war in Gaza, and under whose leadership the ICC investigation into crimes committed in Palestine has largely stalled.

In recent days, as people currently seeking safety in Rafah braced for the incoming assault, a single question echoed across the city: “Where can we go?”

The prospect of more loss is unfathomable. Already, Palestinians are struggling to survive in Rafah, where food and water are scarce, and the city’s overburdened health infrastructure is on the brink of collapse. Even before Netanyahu announced the incoming invasion, life in Rafah had grown unbearable. In interviews conducted last month, people living in the city’s rapidly growing makeshift camps talked about all they had lost since October, their harrowing escapes and repeated displacements, and the uncertainty of their life in what has become the world’s largest refugee camp.

This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Oct 13, 2023. The town is normally home to 280,000 people. But its population has swelled to over 1.5 million – roughly three quarters of Gaza's population -- as people flee fighting elsewhere in Gaza. Sprawling tent camps now dot the city. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Jan. 14, 2024. The town is normally home to 280,000 people. But its population has swelled to over 1.5 million – roughly three quarters of Gaza's population -- as people flee fighting elsewhere in Gaza. Sprawling tent camps now dot the city. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

The satellite images shows the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Oct. 13, 2023 (left) and Jan. 14, 2024 (right). The town is normally home to 280,000 people. But its population has swelled to at least 1.3 million as people flee fighting elsewhere in Gaza. Sprawling tent camps now dot the city. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via AP

Dreams Destroyed

Shahad Abu Hussein and Ahmed Qadouha were ready for their wedding. She had her dress and he his suit, and the expenses for the seaside wedding hall were already paid.

Abu Hussein was looking forward to moving into their new home, which Qadouha, who worked in a television repair shop in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City, had saved for years to buy. She carefully packed clothes and accessories ahead of the wedding. “My fiancé and I were supposed to begin our life together,” she said. “I couldn’t wait for this day. I had picked out my wedding dress and was so excited to begin a life with Ahmed, in our own home.”

Israel’s war on Gaza brought those plans to an abrupt halt. Their wedding, once scheduled for October 12, is indefinitely postponed. Much of the life they had planned for no longer exists: Abu Hussein’s neighborhood was “completely wiped out,” she said. She fled with her family on the first day of Israel’s assault, taking only documents and basic necessities. She heard early on in the war that her family’s home had been severely damaged. “Everything I had prepared for my new home has likely been destroyed,” she said.

Abu Hussein had dreamed of becoming a lawyer. She had recently graduated from high school and had plans to enroll at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City. In November, the university was destroyed. Their wedding hall was another casualty of Israel’s bombs. Qadouha’s shop and the home he built to share with his future wife are also gone. “I worked very hard to save enough to pay for the house, the furniture, and the appliances. I spent years of my life working day and night for it, and my entire house was leveled to the ground,” he said. “All the work I did was for nothing.”

For some time, Abu Hussein and Qadouha thought they might have lost each other too. He fled the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood with some 130 members of his extended family, after Israeli forces ordered them to evacuate in October.

At first, Qadouha relocated to a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, but he was forced to once again move south as Israeli forces advanced. With most communication lines down because of the heavy shelling, the couple went days without knowing whether the other was alive. “I could not reach Shahad,” he said. “I was terrified that something would happen to her.”

It wasn’t until they both reached Rafah that they were reunited.

Still unmarried, they now live with a dozen relatives across from a U.N.-run school turned shelter for thousands of displaced people. Their nylon tent has been reinforced with wood and staples to give it a semblance of structure. They sleep on the ground, in the freezing cold. When it rains, the tent gets soaked, and they look for shelter along the walls of the school.

Even without the prospect of the imminent Israeli invasion of Rafah forcing them to flee once again, it’s hard for them to imagine what their future may hold.

“I cannot fathom that we might have to endure life in this tent for a long time,” said Qadouha. “I feel utterly helpless.”

Another Nakba

At a different encampment for displaced people on the other side of Rafah, 71-year-old Riyad Al Afghani shares another tent with some 30 other people, including his wife and one of his sons. Rafah, where they arrived in late December, was the last possible stop in a weekslong exodus that began when Israeli forces destroyed their home in Gaza City in November.

Before the war started, Al Afghani lived in a 14-floor building in Rimal, a buzzy neighborhood in Gaza’s most populated city, once dotted with high-rises and bustling with restaurants and shops and now reduced to rubble.

In mid-November, Israeli forces called one of Al Afghani’s sons and ordered him to evacuate. Later, Al Afghani also got a call. He told the soldiers that there were many women and children living in the building, but they told him to just leave, he said.

The Israeli military targeted the building that night, and the smell of smoke filled the air. “We fled the tower with children crying and women screaming,” he recounted. As they ran, Israeli snipers fired on them, killing one of the women in the group, a mother of eight, in front of her husband and children. “My son Muhammed carried her and buried her body,” Al Afghani recalled. They sought refuge at a neighbor’s home, where they spent a “terrifying” night as bombs and gunfire relentlessly pounded the area. “Entire neighborhoods were completely devastated,” Al Afghani said.

Another of Al Afghani’s sons, Abdullah, a father of five, was also killed during the November assault. Al Afghani has few details about the circumstances of his son’s killing, and he has not heard of his grandchildren’s fate.

Al Afghani and his family made their way south from Gaza City on foot. He had trouble walking so his son carried him for a while, but they eventually separated so his son and wife could escape faster. Al Afghani joined a different group of thousands of people walking toward the Egyptian border. For hours they moved through a landscape of residential buildings reduced to rubble, cement blocks and dead bodies all around them, he recalled.

As they crossed what the Israeli military had declared to be a “safe passage,” an Israeli tank opened fire at the group, even as they waved a white flag and clutched their ID cards. Later, Israeli soldiers stopped the group and made people stand apart from each other, then proceeded to call young men out, beat them, and arrest them, Al Afghani recalled, echoing reports made by many others in Gaza and documented by human rights groups.

Al Afghani eventually made his way to Rafah in late December, where he was finally reunited with his wife and son. But he’s heard nothing from or about his five daughters and their families, who stayed in Gaza City after Israeli forces began shelling and later invaded the city. Because Israeli strikes have led to frequent communications blackouts, it’s virtually impossible to get in touch with people in Gaza City.

“We are scattered, each member of my family is somewhere in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “I do not know if they are alive or not.”

In Rafah, he and his relatives have little access to food and water, and the sound of Israeli airstrikes nearby is terrifying — a relentless reminder that beyond Rafah, there is nowhere else for people to run. “The danger of being bombed is constant,” Al Afghani said. He can’t afford the exorbitant cost of crossing into Egypt, with smugglers asking for up to $10,000 per person. Even if he could, he doesn’t want to leave Gaza, where he has endured decades of Israeli occupation and several wars, although none more devastating than the current one. 

Al Afghani’s family, like that of many Palestinians in Gaza, is originally from Yafa, a city that is now part of Tel Aviv. They were expelled, along some 750,000 other Palestinians, in 1948, when Israel established a state by forcibly displacing Palestinians in a manner reminiscent of today’s effort to drive them into Egypt. Al Afghani was born a refugee, and as a teenager, he witnessed the 1967 war that culminated in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. “I lived through 1967 at the age of 15; my father has told me about the Nakba, when the Israelis expelled him from Yafa in 1948,” he said. “Still, I have never witnessed anything more horrific and cruel than this current Israeli aggression. This is genocide.”

More Than Emergency

UNRWA, the United Nations agency that’s been the primary service provider for Palestinian refugees since shortly after the establishment of the Israeli state, has struggled to keep up with the enormous humanitarian crisis in Rafah and across Gaza since the beginning of the war.

Israel launched an aggressive lobbying campaign against the relief agency several weeks ago, leveling yet unproven accusations that several agency employees were involved in the October 7 assault on Israel. Israel’s Western allies took the bait and suspended their funding. But even before the cuts, the crisis in UNRWA-run centers was dire. 

There are 15 UNRWA shelters in Rafah, set up after previous Israeli assaults and each with a capacity of about 3,000 people — a fraction of the number they are accommodating now. At one of them, a former school building with 40 classrooms that now houses some 25,000 people, the director described an untenable situation.

“We are not in a state of emergency; we find ourselves in a situation best described as a catastrophe,” said the director, who requested anonymity out of fear of being targeted by Israel.

“All the centers combined can only house 45,000 people. This falls significantly short of the over 1 million and a half people displaced from across the strip.”

Already before this week’s bombings, the crisis had forced agency staff to make dramatic decisions. At the beginning of the war, the director noted as an example, UNRWA allocated half a can of meat for each displaced person. Today, one can has to be shared among 10 people. “The conditions in the school are catastrophic,” he said. “The food we provide for the displaced is insufficient to cover even 5 percent of what they need.”

Only one doctor and one nurse are on site, and essential medicine is hard to come by, the director said. Despite that, they are doing their best to tend to people’s needs. At least 18 women have gone into labor while displaced at the school, the director said. Early on, the shelter’s staff drove them by ambulance to a hospital in Rafah, but as fuel grew scarce, many of them turned to donkey-drawn carts.

One of those women is Sahar, whose husband was killed in October while waiting in line to buy bread at a bakery Israeli forces bombed. Pregnant at the time, she fled to Rafah with her two children and made her way to the school, where she gave birth to a third. At the time, she had not heard from her parents and siblings since shortly after the war started. She now shares a classroom with 40 other women and children, and she was embarrassed because her baby wouldn’t stop crying. “I cannot find milk or diapers for him,” she said to the director.

He told her that the staff distributed one diaper at the time to stretch out supplies, but when Sahar came in, there were none left. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Sahar’s ordeal is a somber reminder that women and children are facing the brunt of Israel’s assault. They make up 70 percent of those killed, according to U.N. figures, and are at greater risk of starvation. “We can barely provide enough water for basic use,” the director said.

“I did eight years of training in disaster and crisis management but what we are currently enduring in Gaza, with Israel’s systematic destruction of the Gaza Strip, is beyond description,” he added. “No human can bear it.”

*

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Iraq War: How the U.S. Contaminated Iraq with Depleted Uranium

February 16th, 2024 by Prof Souad N. Al-Azzawi

The following text was presented to the Kuala Lumpur International Conference to Criminalise War, Putra World Trade Centre, 28-31 October 2009.

For more than three decades [since 1991], the United States of America and the United Kingdom have been waging continuous wars on Iraq to occupy this oil rich country.

The armed forces of those two countries attacked civilians with different kinds of conventional, non-conventional, and banned weapons such as cluster bombs ammunitions, napalm bombs, white phosphorous weapons and depleted Uranium weapons.

Depleted Uranium (DU) is a radioactive and chemically toxic heavy metal. If ingested, inhaled, or it enters the human body through wounds or skin, it remains there for decades.

Within the human body the (DU) particles would be a continuous source for emitting alpha particles. With its toxic effects, published research & epidemiological studies have proved that it causes serious health damages to the human body. Some of the damage to the human body is to lymph tissue, kidneys, developing fetuses, neurological system, the bones, lung fibrosis, and an increase in the risk of many types of cancer and malignancies.

Hundreds of tons of (DU) expenditure have been fired & exploded on Iraqi highly populated areas like Basrah, Baghdad, Nasriya, Dewania, Samawa, and other cities.

Exploration programs and site measurements by Iraqi and non-Iraqi researchers all proved the existence of (DU) related contamination over most Iraqi territories.

Iraq’s Minister of Environment admitted in July 23, 2007 in Cairo that “at least 350 sites in Iraq are contaminated with (DU)”. She added that the nation is facing a tremendous number of cancer cases and called for the international community to help Iraq cope with this problem.

A few years after exposure to (DU) contamination, multifold increase of malignancies, congenital malformations, miscarriages, children leukemia, and sterility cases have been registered in suburb areas of Basrah and other surrounding areas. Similar problems appeared in Falluja, where illegal weapons were also used intensively in the 2004 attack of occupation forces on the city. More than two million of the Iraqi population died since 1991 because of the synergic multiple impact of using (DU) weapons, economical sanctions, and the destruction of the health care systems.

The economical sanction that were also imposed by USA and UK administrations deprived the children and people of Iraq their rights in food,  potable water, health care, sanitation and other life supporting necessities.

The USA and UK administrations have subjected the whole nation of Iraq for two decades to torture and slow death through the intentional use of radioactive weapons and the sanctions. The continuous and intentional use of radioactive weapons is a crime against humanity due to its undifferentiating harmful health effects on civilians in contaminated areas tens of years to come after the military engagements. The existence of (DU) radioactive contamination in the surrounding environment is a continuous source of exposure to low level radiation. This exposure can be considered as a systematic attack on Iraqi civilians in an armed conflict, according to Article 4 of the official regulations and Article 7 of the ICC.

This paper is submitted to present the facts and scientific evidence regarding the intentional use by the USA and UK of depleted uranium weapons against the people and environment of Iraq, in addition to the health consequences that have been result from them.

Introduction

The administrations of the United States of America and the United Kingdom have been continuously waging wars against Iraq since 1991.

The armed forces of these two administrations have been using different kinds and new generations of conventional, nonconventional, and illegal weapons like Napalm, cluster bombs, white phosphorous, microwave, and Depleted Uranium weapons [1][2][3][4] against the human population and the environment of Iraq. Invasion and occupation of Iraq proved to the world that oil flow is the main reason behind these criminal attacks.

As a result of using these weapons, with the economical sanctions that were also imposed on Iraq by the same administration more than two million Iraqi people died and the count continues.

In this paper, we present the consequences and damage resulting from the use of Depleted Uranium weaponry against Iraq, backed by scientific fact and research.

What is Depleted Uranium?

Depleted Uranium (DU) is a man-made, radioactive, heavy metal extracted from Uranium ore. Since (DU) is a byproduct of the Uranium enrichment process to produce spent fuel for nuclear reactors. Natural Uranium has an isotopic content of 99.274% of U-238 by weight, 0.072% of U-235, & 0.0057% of U-234 [5].

Due to its highly pyrophoric and spontaneously ignitable properties, the DU penetrator ignites on impact generating extremely high temperatures. As the projectile pierces, it leaves its jacket behind dispersing DU dust into the environment during the impact. The quantity of the aerosol production is proportional to DU mass within the projectile and the hardness of the impact.

It is estimated that up to 70%of DU in the projectiles to be aerosolized when on the impact DU catches fire [6]. The explosion generates high temperatures of (3000-6000) °C. The aerosols particles are smaller than 5µm in size [6]. These nano-particles act more like a gas than a particle. The DU aerosols remain windborne for an extended time and this is the most dangerous pathway on civilian population around the battlefield areas.

Depleted Uranium within the human body

There is empirical documentation that suggests that DU aerosols can travel up to 26 miles [5], others suggest even further distances. The full radiation effect of DU occurs six months after production [6]. One milligram of U-238 can give of 1, 07, 000 alpha particles in one day. Each alpha particle releases over 4 MeV (million-electron-volts) of energy. If swallowed or inhaled, this much energy will hit up to 6 nearby cells away in the organ [6]. Just 6-10ev (electron volt) is needed to cleave the nuclear DNA strand in the cell.

Dr. Rosalie Bertell, an epidemiologist with 30-years experience in the field of low level radiation explains DU potential harm to the human body [6]:

After inhalation (DU) nano-particle aerosols cross the lung-blood barrier and gain entrance to the cells. They create free radicals. As a heavy metal, DU toxicity attacks the proteins in the cell which normally fight the free radicals, and creates extra free radicals. This amount of free radicals creates total oxidative stress in the human body. This stress causes failure to protective enzymes, leaving cells vulnerable to viruses and mycoplasmas, damage to cellular communication system and the mitochondria.

As a heavy metal, DU replaces the magnesium in the organ’s molecules that normally function as antioxidants, and causes the destruction of the body’s repair mechanisms. Consequences of this destruction are chronic diseases and tumors. Free radicals can also totally disrupt the folding process and manufacturing of the molecule proteins which is sequenced by DNA and manufactured by the RNA. Some of the diseases resulted from misrouted proteins include cystic fibrosis, diabetes insipidus and cancer. [6]

Amassing and accumulation of misfolded proteins leads to neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s Diseases and early onset Alzheimer’s disease. In these diseases, amyloids are formed from protein fragments and dysfunctional proteins and that “Misfolded proteins” are the central pathogenic mechanism.

Gulf War veterans have manifested many of the symptoms of these neurodegenerative diseases.[6]

Other health effects of DU within the human body are:

–           Lou Gehrig’s disease is twice as commonly diagnosed in Gulf War veterans as expected.

–           Immune and Hormonal system damage

–           Disturbance of thyroid function

–           Mycoplasmas invasion into human cells.

–           Initiation or promotion of cancer

–           Tetratogenic toxicity which causes mental retardation, congenital malformations.

–           GW veterans were twice-three times as likely to report children with birth defects as their counter partner who did not serve in the first Gulf War.

–           Miscarriages

Dr. Hari Sharma, formerly of the University of Waterloo, tested the urine of some US, UK and Canadian veterans as well as Iraqi civilians from Basra and Baghdad.

Using 24hr urine samples, his isotopic analysis revealed a range of DU in the sample of (81-1,340) nanogram. Results showed that two of the three Iraqis from Al Basra had 147 – 426 nanograms respectively in their urine. Also it showed that 2 out of 5 Iraqis from Baghdad have DU in their urine

Other Important Scientific Evidence:

•           Dr Alexandra C. Miller and her team at the Armed Forces Radiological Research Institute, Bethesda, MD and the University of Paris, France used human cell models (the human Osteoblast cell HOS) to evaluate the carcinogenic potential of DU in vitro through assessing morphological transformation, genotoxicity [7] (chromosomal aberration), mutagenic (HRRT Ioci) and genomic instability.

Published data of the results have demonstrated that DU exposure in vitro to immortalized HOS cells is neoplatically transforming, mutagenic, genotoxic, and induces genomic instability. Other results showed:

–           Exposure to embedded DU pellets could induce leukemia in mice.

–           Internalized DU resulted in significant increases in the mutagenic frequency in the Lac gene in the tests of the exposed mice.

–           Internalized DU resulted in the development of bladder carcinoma in 75% of all animal exposed within 90 days of initial DU exposure.

As we can see all these results suggest that long-term exposure to internalized DU could be critical to the development of neoplastic disease in humans.

•           Pub. Radiation Protection Dosimetry Schroder, Heike 2003. A molecular biologist conducted research about the chromosomal aberration on white blood cells of 16 British Gulf War veterans of 1991. The veterans have suffered from symptoms ranging from headache, to chronic fatigue, depression, muscle and joint pains, impaired short-term memory and other cognitive defects. [8]

The results showed that the mean frequency of their blood cells chromosomal aberrations is 5-fold elevation higher than the control blood samples. This strongly indicated previous exposure to ionizing radiations.

The intercellular distribution of the Dicentric and  Centric ring chromosomes indicates significant over dispersion on the group level for the veterans who served in the Gulf War. Dic and CR are a known consequence of non uniform irradiation on the human body. [8]

•           Dr. Huda Ammash, Professor of Molecular Biology in Baghdad University and her team [9] conducted and published the results of genetic hematological analysis for a group of individuals living in DU contaminated areas in southern Iraq. Blood tests for the (47) individuals who lived in Basrah contaminated areas and another 30 as a control group. The control group individuals lived in Baghdad.

–           Blood tests showed that 21% of the studied individuals in Basrah group suffered a reduction in hemoglobin concentration of (9-13) g/d.

–           The blood packed cell volume (PCV) test results showed that 25.5% of Basrah studied group showed abnormal (PCV) rates of (30-39)% less than the normal rate.

–           Total white Blood Cells count (WBC) results showed that 8% of the individuals in the Basrah study group with (WBC) less than normal which is (4000)c/ml or higher than normal rate (1100)c/ml.

–           Compound chromosomal changes in the lymphocytes of periphal blood of the individuals of Basrah studied group had been found at a ratio of (0.1118)% which is significantly higher than that of the control group.

–           The ratio of dicentric and ring centric chromosomal abnormality fraction was found to be (0.04479) which is higher than ordinary ratio chromosomal damages where mostly in male veteran individuals. One case was for a 13 year old young boy at the time of the exposure in Al-Zubair contaminated area.

•           Rita Hindin, et al [5] published a paper “Teratogenicity of Depleted Uranium aerosols: A review from an epidemiological perspective” in which they stated that animal studies firmly support the possibility that DU is a teratogen. They also concluded that the human epidemiological evidence is consistent with the increased risk of birth defects in offspring of persons exposed to DU.

•           For further scientific evidences by Iraqi researchers, check: ”Depleted Uranium Contamination: Iraq: An overview” (Global Research)

Contaminating Iraq with Depleted Uranium

The USA and UK armed forces used Depleted Uranium ammunition for the first time in the history of their wars during the Gulf War of 1991. About one million bullets, projectiles, and missiles were fired along the highway from Kuwait to Basrah then up to Nasriya and other Iraqi cities. About 60-65% of this ammunition and expenditure were fired within Iraqi territories, Figure 1 shows areas where DU expenditure have been used in the Gulf War of 1991 [11].


Figure 1 areas where DU expenditure have been used in Gulf War 1991.

Figure 2 represents a photo of the Iraqi army artilleries and vehicles destroyed on that highway by (DU) weaponry [12].

Figure 2: Iraqi army artilleries that have destroyed using DU on Highway

As stated previously, as soon as DU projectiles hit the target, it will ignite with a huge explosion that generates Depleted Uranium oxide aerosols. Mixing height of the aerosols in the atmosphere gets to 250m [13]. Area of Basrah War Zone and highway warzone [10] [14] were calculated to be around 2400km2. This area was the major continuous source of DU aerosols and contaminants to surrounding areas years to come.

Types of Depleted Uranium contaminants in the studied areas were:

1.         Destroyed tanks and artilleries.

2.         DU projectiles shells (exploded and unexploded)

3.         DU shrapnel’s (different sizes)

4.         Deposited DU particles

5.         Deposited DU oxide aerosols

Modeling mechanisms of spreading of DU pollutants from the source to surrounding populated areas were done by the Environmental Engineering department of Baghdad University [10] [14] [15]. The results of modeling spreading of pollutants through different environmental pathways to human population suggested that total calculated annual body dose received from DU aerosols inhalation pathway for the period from 1991-1996 in Basrah warzone was between 0.1768 Sv and 0.2309 Sv [10] (for a person both in normal or active duty respectively). Compared to normal background annual effective dose people should receive of 2.4 mSv only. In the highway warzone, these values came up to 0.4425 Sv and 0.577 Sv [14] respectively.

DU Contaminated Dust Storms In Iraq

Spreading and dispersion of DU contamination to surrounding areas also occurs through wind storms, dust storms, sandstorms, and rainstorms. Mechanisms of surface migration of DU radionuclide’s in soil include [16]:

–           Siltation, creeping, and suspension from contaminated soil to atmosphere.

–           Suspension and re-suspension of deposited DU aerosols are the most dangerous and critical pathway of transfer and spreading from source to the human population.

DU nano-particles through this mechanism stay suspended in the atmosphere for tens of days. With each dust storm a new DU attack on the civilians within populated cities occurs. Published data indicate a significant increase in the frequency of annual dust storms in both Iraq and Kuwait areas [17]. The first 8 months of 2009 witnessed 20 dust storms, as declared by the Iraqi Minister of Health [18]. Figures (3) and (4) show sites of these dust storms.

DU contaminated dust storms can be considered as new systematic attacks by USA armed forces, on civilians, since it adds an extra harmful radioactive dose received by the people internally and externally.

The USA and UK administrations should be held responsible for exposing a whole nation to the risk of continually receiving high radioactive and toxic persistent contaminants such as DU.

Cumulative effects of these additional doses add additional risk to residents of these areas. Intentional denial and cover up of the types, locations and amounts of DU ammunitions by the US and UK armed forces prevent Iraq from taking any precautionary measures to reduce exposure to additional radioactive doses.

To understand how persistent these pollutants are; Soil and dust samples from areas near NL Industries site in Colonie, NY, USA proved containing DU after more than 20 years of the closure of these DU manufacturing industries [19].

A total of 5 to 10 metric tons of DU dust and aerosols settled from air on soil, rooftops, and other surfaces near the plant during its operation. The plant was closed in 1984 and contaminated soil was removed. In 2006, twenty-two years later, dust samples that had been collected from residents in the area proved the existence of DU significantly above the clean up standard. People working near NL Industries also tested positive for DU in their bodies. Results of these tests are being published in the international journal “Science of the Total Environment” [20].

If we compare this case study with Basra DU contamination where (320 tons of DU * 0.65 in Iraqi territories * 0.6 aerosolized) we end up with about 114.80 metric tons of DU aerosols spreading through winds to huge inside Iraq and the Gulf countries’ areas, then pre-suspension of these contaminants to larger areas with each dust and sand storm that hits the area.

In 2003, it is estimated the US & UK armed forces used about (700-800) tons of DU [21]. The aerosolized portion of this amount is about 420 metric tons, a quantity large enough to cover the soil of the whole country after the dispersion of plumes with the previously mentioned mechanisms.

DU Contamination Casualties in Iraq:

Epidemiological studies in contaminated areas indicated a drastic rise in the incidences rate of malignancies amongst children to be far more noticeable from 1995 onward, namely a four times increase than prior to 1991, the distribution of this increase specifically in contaminated areas west of Basra City [22].

Moreover, the shift in Leukemia to younger children supports the criteria of biological plausibility specificity and is consistent with findings of correlating such incidents to exposure to ionized radiations [23].

Also a six fold increase in congenital malformations among births in Basra City since 1995 onward, have been registered [24]. Congenital heart diseases and chromosomal aberrations have been also reported.

Another crime of the occupation forces is the destruction of the evidence targeting the Iraqi research centers related to this issue.

Two decades of suffering, pain, and human life losses, the Minister of Environment in Iraq finally announced in 2007 the disaster of DU contamination in Iraq. She pointed out that more than 300 sites have been contaminated with these radioactive weapons [25]. She also called for the Japanese authorities and the international community to help Iraq with coping with the drastic increase of cancer incident rates [26].

To prove our case: Kuwait DU waste & wreckage from Gulf wars are shipped back to be dumped in USA.

After 18 years, Kuwait required US dept. of defense to remove the DU contaminated wreckage from their land [21]. Over 6,700 tons of contaminated soil, sand and other residues were collected and shipped back to the USA for burial by American Ecology at Bios, Idaho.

The US administration and pentagon officials still insist that DU has no significant health hazards, if so, why would they have to ship back their dirty radioactive wreckage back home from Kuwait?

Stand of the International Community on DU Weaponry

The Hague and Geneva conventions and its protocols and subsequent treaties clearly declare that weapons which cannot discriminate between civilians and military or combatants are prohibited from not only use but also from manufacture and sale [27].

The Nuremberg principles were incorporated into the Charter of the UN, a treaty which is supposed to be “Supreme Law” in the USA. When the American Administration ratified it, the 7th principle declares that “Complicity with a crime against Humanity is a war crime”.

UN resolutions since 1996 called DU weaponry “incompatible” (i.e. illegal) under existing humanitarian law and human rights [UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/27 and additions; E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/38 and E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/35] [28].

Uranium radiation hazards are covered up and misrepresented through the obsolete models of risk and derived standards of allowable exposure set by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).

This model was derived from invalid assumptions due to secrecy and cover up about the health effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs then, around the cold war developments of nuclear power and weapons [28].

The ICRP risk model was built from studies of the atomic bomb survivors, which overlooked the effects from the internal radiation source and ignored cancer that in some cases takes decades to appear.

It was certainly developed before the DNA and the human genome knowledge existed the way it does to date.

Cover-ups and deception are expected from American and UK administrations the perpetrators of all radiological wars and illegal weapons, which should face liability for war crimes, military and civilian casualties, as well as contamination of the environment.

The US has refused to disclose information about DU during the invasion military operations of Iraq in 2003, and did not let UNEP team study DU contamination Iraq [29].

With the great efforts of anti-nuclear weapons groups, NGO, peace organizations and international figures, the call of these organizations to ban the all Uranium weapons, including DU, have earned very good momentum especially among the NATO countries.

–           On March 23rd, 2007, the Belgian Chamber Commission on National Defense voted unanimously in favor of banning the use of DU ammunitions and armor plates [30].

–           On November 1, 2008, a UN committee passed a resolution with an overwhelming majority, highlighting concerns over the military use of Uranium. The resolution entitled “Effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing Depleted Uranium 1” urges the UN member states to re-examine the health hazards posted by the use of Uranium weapons [31].

–           Another historic sentence was pronounced on January 13, 2009 by a court in Florence, Italy asking the Italian Ministry of Defense to compensate Gianbattista Marica with Euro 545,061, a parachutist who was deployed in Somalia for eight months in 1993. The sentence is very important because it states “the casual link between the presence of depleted uranium and the illness (cancer) of the Soldier” [32]. The courts statement includes the report of technical consultant who maintains that there is a causal link between the Hodgkin Lymphoma developed by the soldier and the exposure to DU.

–           In September 2009, a British jury at Smethwick Council House ruled that DU was likely cause of death of Gulf War veteran Stuart Dysan in June 2008. Dyson had been a Lance Corporal with the Royal Pioneer Corps and had cleaned tanks after the 1991 Gulf War. He developed colon cancer that killed him last year [33].

The European Parliament on 22nd of May 2008 passed its fourth resolution against the use Uranium weapons. MEP’s have called for EU and NATO-wide moratorium and global ban [29].

Concluding Remarks:

1. The US and UK administrations have been using Depleted Uranium weapons against the civilian population and the environment of Iraq since 1991.

2. Laboratory studies and scientific evidence prove the link and causal relationship between exposure to Depleted Uranium and the increased risk of inducing neurodegenerative diseases, immune and hormonal system damage, initiation or promotion of cancer, Tetratogenic Toxicity which causes mental retardation and congenital malformations, miscarriages, and sterility.

3. Intentional denial and refusal of the US and UK administrations to release any information about the types, locations, and amounts of DU weapons that have been used against Iraq have caused additional radioactive doses, and health damages to the people in contaminated areas. Both administrations should be held responsible for this crime.

4. The drastic increase of cancer incidences in Iraq since 1995 to date and the DU related diseases like congenital malformation, miscarriages, etc, are all attributed to the use of prohibited weapons including Depleted Uranium.

5. DU contaminated areas all over the country are continuous source of radioactive pollution. Without cleaning and other measures, resuspension of these contaminants with each dust and sand storm can be considered as systematic attacks by the US and UK armies on civilians in an armed conflict.

This is a crime against humanity to its undifferentiated harmful health impacts on civilians long times to come after the military operations (Article 4 of the official regulations and Article 7 of ICC).

Notes

1. Simon Helweg-Larsen, “Irregular Weapons Used against Iraq”. ZNET http://www.znet.org/welser.htm ,April 2003

2. Sarah Meyer. “What Kind of Incendiary Bomb Was Used Against People in Iraq” http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=1226  November 14, 2005.

3. Steven D. “US Army Admits Use of White Phosphorus as Weapon”. Daily KOS.

4. Scott Peterson Remains of Toxic Bullets Litter Iraq, May 18, 2003, Christian Science Monitor.

5. Rita Hindin, Doug Brugge, and Bindu Panikkar, “Teratogenicity of Depleted Uranium aerosols: A review from an epidemiological perspective ” Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 2005. http://www.ehjournal.net/info/instructions/

6. Rosali Bertell “Depleted Uranium: All the questions about DU and Gulf War Syndrome are not yet answered”. International Journal of Health Service 36(3), 503-520, 2006

7. Alexandra C. Miller, Mike Stewart, Rafael Rivas, Robert Marlot, and Paul Lison, “Depleted Uranium” internal contamination: Carcinogenisis and Leukeinogenisis in Vivo. Proc. Am Assoc Cancer Res. Volume 46, 2005.

8. Chroder, H. et al. “Chromosome aberration analysis in peripheral lymphocytes of Gulf War and Balkans War veterans”. Radiation Prot. Dosimetry. Vol. 103(3) 2003 (PP. 211-219).

9. Ammash, H., Alwan, L., and Maarouf, B.,”Genetic hematological study for a selected population from DU contaminated areas in Basra.” Proceeding of the conference on the effects of the use of DU weapons on human and environment in Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq 2002.

10. Al-Azzawi, S. N. and Al-Naemi, A. “Assessment of radiological doses and risks resulted from DU contamination in Basrah war zone.” Proceeding of the conference on the effects of the use of DU

11. Gulf War Resource Center “Primary Areas of DU Expenditure”, USA, 1999.

12. Turnley, P.; News Week Magazine; (January-20), 1992.

13. Neboysha, L. “Environmental Impact on Humans During the Gulf War”, Communications between Professor Neboysha and Professor Sharma, 1999.

14. Al-Azzawi, S., and Al Naemi, A., 2002, “Assessment of radiological doses and risks resulted from DU contamination in the highway war zone in Al-Basra governorate”, proceedings of the conference on the effects of the use of DU weaponry on human and environment in Iraq, March 26-27 2002, Baghdad, Iraq.

15. Al-Azzawi, S. et al, “ Environmental Pollution Resulting from the Use of Depleted Uranium Weaponry Against Iraq During 1991, World International Conference on DU, Hamburg, Germany, 2003 http://www.grassrootspeace.org/wuwc_reader2_science.pdf  – p.41

16. Al-Heli, W.M. “Effects of DU Weapons on Air and Soil Pollution in Southern Iraq”, M.Sc. Thesis in Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Iraq. 1998.

17. Draxler R. R., et al, “Estimating PM10 Air concentrations from Dust storms in Iraq, Kuwait and Kingdom Saudi Arabia. Atmospheric Environment” vol35:4115-4330.

18. Middle East Online, “Draught steals Iraqi’s nutrition”, September 1st 2009

19. ICBUW, “Robert shows New Yorkers Contaminated with DU over 20 years after exposure” http://www.banddepleteduranium.org/

20. William, D. “Hazards of Uranium Weapons in the Proposed War on Iraq” full report.. The Eos life resources center. Oct, 2002.

21. ICBUW, “Statement by the DU positive testees” http://www.banddepleteduranium.org/

22. Yaqoub, A., et.al., 1999, “Depleted Uranium and health of people in Basrah: an epidemiological evidence; 1-The incidence and pattern of malignant diseases among children in Basrah with specific reference to leukemia during the period of 1990-1998”, the medical journal of Basrah University (MJBU), vol.17, no.1&2, 1999, Basrah, Iraq.

23. Yaqoub, A., Ajeel, N., and Al-Wiswasy, M., 1998, “Incidence and pattern of malignant diseases (excluding leukemia) during 1990-1997”, Proceeding of the conference on health and environmental consequences of DU used by U.S. and British forces in the 1991 Gulf War, Dec. 2-3, 1998, Baghdad, Iraq. http://www.irak.be/ned/archief/Depleted%20Uranium_bestanden/DEPLETED%20URANIUM-3-%20INCIDENCE.htm

24. Al-Sadoon, I., Hassan, J., and Yaqoub, A., 1998, “Incidence and pattern of congenital anomalies among birth in Basrah during the period 1990-1998”, Proceeding of the conference on health and environmental consequences of DU used by U.S. and British forces in the 1991 Gulf War, Dec. 2-3, 1998. http://www.irak.be/ned/archief/Depleted%20Uranium_bestanden/DEPLETED%20URANIUM-1-%20INCIDENCE.htm

25.  RIA Novoski “Iraqis blame US depleted Uranium for surge in cancer”

26.  Tokyo Newspapers “Iraqi Minister of Environment Appeals to Japanese Government for Assistance in Dealing with DU contmination”. September 10th 2008 http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp

27. Proceeding of World Uranium weapons conference 2003, Hamburg, Germany. Page 192

28. Protr Bein “Uranium Weapons cover-ups in our midst”. Proceedings of world Uranium Weapons conference, 2003, Hamburg, Germany.

29. David Goliath “The Adversary’s Tactics and Effectiveness”. Proceedings of world conference, 2003 Hamburg, Germany, Page 204.

30. William Van Den Panhuysen. “Belgium Bans Uranium Weapons and Armor”. ISBUW, March 24, 2007.

31. ICBUW, “UN First Committee Passes DU Resolution in Landslide Vote” Nov. , 2007 http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/

32. Stefania Divertito “Historic sentence in Florence, Italian court recognizes the link between cancer and Depleted Uranium”. 13th Jan. 2009 http://www.peaclink.it

33. ICBUW, DU was a likely cause of dead Gulf Veteran’s cancer”. Sept. 11, 2009 http://www.bandepleteduranium.org

34. ICBUW “European Parliament passes far reaching DU resolution in landslide vote”, May 22, 2008. http://www.bandepleteduranium.org

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

***

For months the mainstream media and Washington Pols have been pushing the metaphor that the US economy is a plane on its final approach to a ‘soft landing’. Soft landing is defined as inflation steadily coming down to the Federal Reserve’s goal of a 2% price level AND does so without provoking a recession.

However, as revealed by the inflation statistics in the US Labor Department’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), the ‘soft landing’ plane is clearly stuck circling the airport!

The government’s just released January 2024 Consumer Price Index report shows not only that prices are stuck at a level (i.e. ‘circling’?) where they’ve been since last summer 2023, but January’s CPI report  shows signs of prices even beginning to rise once again.

Moreover, if one lifts some of the questionable assumptions and methodologies used to estimate inflation in the CPI, inflation may be even higher than officially reported. Perpetually circling for months, the soft landing plane may even be running out of gas.

The CPI is one of several government price indices. The other two are the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index and the GDP Deflator Index. These latter are produced by the Commerce Department. The PCE typically estimates inflation only two thirds to three fourths the price level provided by the CPI, using different assumptions and methodologies than the CPI.

Having said that, let’s look at the January CPI report (after which Part 2 of this article will show why even the CPI undershoots inflation and why the PCE and GDP Deflator undershoot even more). 

January 2024 Consumer Price Index

The CPI slices and dices inflation in many ways. Its aggregate number is called the All Items CPI-U. It’s the summary of price changes for all the goods and services estimated by the CPI. All means around 450 or so of the most often purchased by households. There are literally millions of goods and services in the US economy but households’ budgets are almost totally spent on the CPI’s 450 or so ‘basket of goods and services’ that are mostly purchased by households.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The All Items category is then broken down into what’s called ‘Headline’ inflation and ‘Core’ inflation.  Since food and energy (i.e. gasoline, natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, groceries, food at home, food away from home, etc.) are goods that tend to fluctuate a lot, subtracting food and energy from All Items results in what’s called ‘Core’ inflation. Add back in food and energy goods and that’s ‘Headline’ inflation.

Another important break down of ‘All Items’ is Goods vs. Services inflation. The Goods sector of the economy is roughly 20% of GDP (Construction—residential and commercial—is about 8% of GDP and Manufactured goods about 12%). All the rest (80%) of the US economy is Services. So Services contributes a bigger part of the overall CPI and inflation.

So what does the latest January 2024 CPI report show us for ‘All Items’, ‘Headline’, ‘Core’ and the important sub-categories of Goods vs. Services inflation?

The most important takeaway from the January CPI is the ‘All Items’ rate of inflation last month is at the same level that it was seven months ago in June 2023—that is, inflation continued to rise at the same 3% annual rate of change in January 2023 that it was in June 2023!

To continue the ‘soft landing’ metaphor, what that means is the Inflation plane had entered its ‘downward leg’ from January 2022 to January 2023, slowing from a 7.5% annual rate increase at the start of 2022 to 6.4% a year later in January 2023. It then slowed further the following six months from January 2023 to June 2023, from the 6.4% to 3%.

Thereafter, since last June 2023, it has plateaued at a 5,000 foot level above the US economy airport, where it’s been circling ever since. 

Peeling the onion of the ‘All Items’ aggregate indicator, and considering just ‘Core’ inflation—i.e. ‘All Items’ minus energy and food prices—It’s a similar picture: Core inflation has also been stuck, at around 3.9%-4% since October 2023.

Slicing ‘All Items’ yet another way, into Goods vs. Services inflation what the latest January CPI stats further reveal is that since October 2023 Services inflation has also been stuck, in this case in roughly the 5% range. 

In other words, except for gasoline and some food prices, the CPI has not slowed in the last seven months. The plane has not landed but just keeps circling! 

And it may be running out of gas as well.  The latest CPI stats, on a month to month change basis, suggest the rate of inflation may now have started to rise again last month. Unadjusted for seasonality (i.e. the actual price changes), January’s CPI stats show a month to month rising trend for the CPI as follows: 

  • October 2023: 0.0%
  • November 2023: -0.2%
  • December 2023: -.0.1%
  • January 2024: +0.5%

Within the January numbers were some worrisome trends: Services inflation nearly doubled in January compared to December (0.7% vs 0.4%); food prices did double (0.4% vs 0.2%) with grocery prices rising the fastest in the entire previous twelve months. Meanwhile shelter costs rose from 0.4% to 0.6% for January with its biggest component, Rent, rising the fastest in nine months.  And other services like hospital and airlines, the prices of which had slowed in 2023, surged again in January.

Forces pointing to higher gasoline and energy Goods inflation in the coming months are appearing as well. The business media in US and abroad report that global crude oil supply problems are mounting—at a time when typically in the spring oil refineries also shut down for maintenance and consumers begin to drive more.

The Goods vs. Services Inflation Conundrum

To sum up thus far: if CPI reports for the past seven months show Services prices are stuck at 5%, Core prices at around 4%, and All Items stuck at 3%. Those numbers suggests Goods prices—gasoline and some food prices—have indeed come down. The January CPI report shows that Goods prices have been either flat or slightly negative over the past twelve months.

But Services inflation remains stuck at around 5% for months now. The main culprits in continuing Services inflation have been Rent services which have consistently been responsible more than half of all the CPI services price increases for several months; Day Care services; Sporting and Entertainment events prices; Auto Repairs; and Auto Insurance services which have risen by 20.6% over the past year. In addition, hospital services costs are now surging anew and rising at the fastest rate since 2015.

So why have Goods (especially gas and food) inflation significantly abated over the past year while the Services price level has barely done so?

There are several explanations. Here’s a couple:

Fed Interest Rates Are Increasingly Inefficient 

Federal Reserve interest rate hikes since 2022 have clearly had an effect on Goods inflation—i.e. on energy and food and some other commodities. But so may have other economic forces.

The US economy has slowed due to rate hikes. But so has the global economy slowed. Which has had more impact on dampening demand for oil, commodities and thus US energy related goods prices in general? US rate hikes or slowing global economy? And what about food/grocery prices?  Prices for milk and eggs surged in 2021-22 but have since come down. However, processed foods like bakery goods and other processed items like juice and beverages have not. They’re still rising at more than 20% annual rate? The difference likely lies in the fact that milk and eggs are produced locally and are not monopolistic; processed foods are monopolistic and dominated by a handful of companies. That strongly suggests corporate price gouging is going on in the processed foods sector of food prices. Recent media and government are now also talking about ‘shrinkflation’ (a hidden price hike by lowering content) which suggests evidence of processed food corporations’ price gouging as well. 

2021-22: Supply Driven Inflation

The big problem in Goods inflation that emerged initially back in 2021 was domestic US and global ‘supply chains’. As this writer discussed back then (see my ‘The Anatomy of Inflation’ Counterpunch article of June 23, 2022), what drove inflation to its 9.1% peak were mostly Supply side forces—i.e. supply chains exacerbated by price gouging by monopolistic US corporations jacking up prices as the US economy reopened in the summer of 2021 from the Covid shutdowns. That’s a topic to which mainstream economists and politicians have paid too little attention of late. 

Productivity also collapsed in 2021-22 falling to the worse levels since 1947, which in turn raised business unit labor costs that many companies simply passed on to consumers in higher prices. Like supply chains and price gouging, that too was basically a supply matter.

Inflation at the time in 2021-22, in other words, was thus largely supply—not demand—driven.

The Covid shutdown of 2020-21 was a major shock to much of the US economy, especially supply. Workers laid off did not immediately return. Some businesses like railroad companies found it convenient and profitable not to brink all their workers back but to run on more profitable skeleton crews. Other businesses did not immediately or fully ramp up production once the economy began to reopen in the summer of 2021. They at first waited to see if the reopening could be sustained. But once the economy began to successfully reopen by late summer 2021 many services businesses tried to recoup lost revenue by rapidly raising prices (a typical example was the Airlines companies and Hotels which clearly price-gouged consumers with record prices for travel in 2021-22). 

The Covid shutdowns restructured labor, product and financial markets in ways still not fully understood by economists or policy makers. Fiscal and monetary stimulus measures in particular did not work very well or efficiently (a topic for another article). A given amount of monetary and fiscal stimulus simply did not produced an expected magnitude of real economic recovery.

A dramatic fact of the past two years US economic recovery has been its tepid growth rate. In 2020-21 the Federal Reserve pumped $5 trillion into the US banking system and directly to investors via its QE program. Congress provided an additional $4 trillion in government spending and tax cuts. That’s $9 trillion in combined stimulus! About twice that provided in 2008-10 What has resulted, in the first two years 2022-23 after the economy reopened in 2021 was a growth rate in GDP terms of a mere 2.1% in 2022 and unimpressive 2.5% in 2023.

In short, a mountain of $9T fiscal-monetary stimulus resulted in a molehill of GDP recovery!

Overlaid on the supply problems that emerged in 2021 and which lingered into 2022 was global commodity prices surging in 2022-23 as a consequence of the Ukraine war and US Russian (and China to lesser extent) sanctions policies and the Ukraine War.

All these factors contributed to the primarily supply side driven inflation of 2021-22. Those supply forces were only partially abated by the demand depressing policies of the Federal Reserve after it began raising rates.

And now since mid-2023 Fed rate hikes have stopped. And with it so too have Services inflation decline. Fed rate hikes to 5.5% appear to have little effect on Services inflation. So how high might interest rates have to go to have an effect? A little history as follows might give some idea.

Volcker’s 1980-82 Solution vs. Powell’s 2022-23

Despite US inflation’s largely supply side character, in 2022 US politicians and the Federal Reserve decided the strategy to address supply side inflation would be to depress consumer demand in the US economy.  The Federal Reserve set out to attack consumer demand to dampen inflation. Its main tool was raising interest rates and the Fed commenced in 2022 to raise rates at the rapidest pace in decades. The idea was to create enough unemployment that would reduce wage incomes and thus consumption spending to bring down demand and theoretically prices in turn. In other words: even if the main drivers were Supply side (which the Fed can do nothing about) the strategy was to make households pay the price to abate inflation by depressing household wage incomes and consumption demand. So the Fed raised interest rates to 5.5% over the course of 2022-2023.

After all, the same rate hike to compress demand strategy worked under Reagan in 1981-83 when Paul Volcker was Fed chair. 10%+ annual CPI inflation at the time was lowered via Fed rate hikes that attacked the Goods sector, raised unemployment, and subsequently depressed wage incomes and consumption. It was a demand side approach to price reduction—employed to address a Supply side inflation problem back then as well. Nevertheless it worked. Prices came down, but only after the Fed raised rate to more than 15%! A deep recession  in 1982-83 followed the Fed rate hikes of 1980. But that was then. The US economy has changed dramatically since. It doesn’t work that way anymore. Indeed, monetary policy hardly works at all.

As in 1980-82, Powell’s Fed rate hikes in 2022-23 have succeeded in dampening goods prices but have NOT succeeded this time around in bringing down services prices very much, as the CPI data for the past seven months clearly shows.  Goods inflation has indeed come down, but services prices remain stuck at levels of last summer 2023 now for months and may be rising once again. So why is it that four decades later monetary policy (rate hikes) has not succeeded as it did in 1980-82 in reducing the price level very much?

In his December 2022 press conference following the Fed’s commencing to raise rates, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell indicated the Fed’s strategy in 2023 would be to continue raising rates. He specifically cited his main goal of bringing Services prices down, adding for that more unemployment was needed in Services in order to lower Services consumption. That was the Fed’s inflation strategy for 2023. But that strategy—and lower Services prices—didn’t happen. 

Contradictions of Fed Monetary Policy 

Halfway into 2023 Powell stopped raising rates. But why? Why didn’t he continue raising rates and stopped halfway through 2023?  There are several possible answers, but as this writer has argued before, perhaps the main reason was the crisis that emerged concurrently in the US regional banking system in March 2023.  Raising interest rates even higher would have exacerbated that regional banking crisis. So Powell raised rates for the last time in May-June 2023 after the Regional Bank Crisis erupted that March 2023.

By doing so the Fed decided to trade off reducing Services and Core inflation further in 2023 in order to prevent further exacerbating regional bank instability. Powell apparently has placed his bet on assuming the already 5.5% interest rate level will prove sufficient over time to eventually, if albeit slowly, bring down Services. Thus far it hasn’t. Services sector unemployment and Services consumption has not abated. Powell has lost his bet. Services prices are ‘stuck’ at 5% and Core at around 4% now.

What this scenario suggests is that the US and global economy has changed in fundamental ways since the early 1980s. The US is a much more Services centric economy today compared to forty years ago. Services don’t respond as efficiently to rate hikes. In fact, nor does the economy in general, it appears. To put that in economists’ parlance: Services inflation has become ‘interest rate inelastic’.

That lack of real economy response to interest rates (i.e. the inelasticity) may be due in part to  the US economy becoming more ‘financialized’ today compared to 1981-83. What that means is Fed periodic liquidity (aka money) injections into the economy get redirected from going into real investment and flow relatively more into financial asset markets instead of the real economy. That makes Fed rate policy ‘inefficient’—i.e. more monetary injection is required to get an equivalent stimulus ‘bang for the buck’.

The converse is also true: Fed rate hikes have less effect on dampening inflation and slowing the real economy because it has become more financialized. Rate hikes simply don’t retract as much liquidity (money) from the economy as they used to. And even if they did it wouldn’t matter. Businesses (and consumers) today, fort years later, have access to alternative sources of funds besides bank lending, in the US and worldwide.  Or perhaps businesses and investors cut back on investing in the real economy first, before they consider reducing their investing in financial markets. After all, didn’t financial markets and profits boom during Covid while opportunities for investing in the real economy collapse?

The preceding paragraph suggests globalization may also be resulting in less effective Federal Reserve interest rate policy when it comes to rate hikes dampening inflation. Here financialization and globalization of the 21st century capitalist economy overlap.

Multinational corporations in particular aren’t limited by Fed interest rate hikes or levels when they need money capital to invest. They can go anywhere in the world for lower rates. That’s presuming they even bother to borrow from banks at all any more. Multinationals raise far more money by issuing corporate bond debt of their own. And they loaded up on bond issuance in the years of near zero Fed rates from 2009-2018 and then during 2020-21 when the Fed injected $5T more of virtually free money into the banks and directly to investors via QE. Corporations just issued mountains of bond debt prior to Covid that they didn’t even need and then just hoarded the cash throughout the pandemic. Or else redistributed the virtually free Fed money to their stockholders in buybacks and dividends and hoarded their own cash earnings. Once the Fed started raising rates in 2022 those rate hikes were irrelevant for many big businesses. They were flush with unspent cash from issuing bonds or new stock. Only the smallest businesses are impacted any more by Fed rate hikes, or rate cuts for that matter.

Some Conclusions

In conclusion, in terms of inflation, what all this means is Fed chair Powell will have to raise rates much higher than 5.5% if he wants to reduce Services and Core inflation sigsnificantly further. Maybe not as high as Paul Volcker’s 15% in 1981. But higher than the current 5.5% for sure.

However Powell won’t do either so long as Services inflation levels remain stuck at current levels. He’s decided he can live with that level of Services inflation, while betting perhaps rates kept at current levels may yet reduce inflation further over the longer run.

Powell won’t risk higher rates that will certainly exacerbate a regional bank crisis again, which by the way continues to deteriorate slowly and which now faces the threat of commercial property defaults coming in 2025-26, to which already unstable regional banks remain highly exposed.

He also won’t raise rates because the US economy is teetering on the brink of recession already. The US construction sector has fallen one-third and appears stuck at that level while the manufacturing sector has been contracting for the last nine months, according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). A deeper recession in 2024 would certainly not help the politicians. And regardless what apologists for the Fed say, Fed policies are politically a-tuned in election years.

So expect CPI and inflation to remain at levels largely similar to what they have for the past half year. Goods inflation will likely stay low (subject to uncertain oil prices).  Companies that can, will continue to price gouge. Rents and home prices, Insurance services, processed food items, select services will remain at current levels or even drift up further. So therefore will the CPI, fluctuating perhaps marginally around its January levels month to month.

However, as will be explained in a Part 2 sequel to this article, even reported CPI is a low- balled estimate of the price level, due to the many questionable assumptions and methodologies that go into its estimation of inflation.

So if the US economy plane does decide eventually to descend, its landing may be anything but ‘soft’.

*

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Dr. Rasmus is author of the books, ‘Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes’, Clarity Press, 2017 and ‘Alexander Hamilton and the Origins of the Fed’, Lexington Books, 2020. Follow his commentary on the emerging banking crisis on his blog, https://jackrasmus.com; on twitter daily @drjackrasmus; and his weekly radio show, Alternative Visions on the Progressive Radio Network every Friday at 2pm eastern and at https://alternativevisions.podbean.com.

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Jan. 13, 2024 – Easton, ME – 35 year old Leann Kaiser 

 

 

“I’m Leann, a 35-year-old female who was recently diagnosed with a very large tumor on the left frontal and parietal lobes in the meninges of my brain. The tumor encases the sagittal sinus and is resting on the body of the corpus callosum and has created its own copycat bundle of collateral veins. I am no longer able to work very much at this time and will subsequently miss days of work due to the upcoming appointments in preparation for surgery.”

“I am a recent graduate of NMCC (2021-associates of arts) and UMFK (2023-bachelors of science), where I earned a 3.89 GPA at both schools, was consistently on the dean’s list, received special honors, recognition, and awards, and graduated as the top student in my program at both schools. I also still currently work part time for 5 hours, 2 days/week as a tutor at NMCC. Before this diagnosis, I was pursuing a career with the Aroostook Mental Health Center to become a substance abuse and mental health counselor for the Residential Treatment Facility in our area; however, these plans were put on hold in light of my recent diagnosis and need for emergency brain surgery”

 

“I believe this tumor is a direct result of the Covid vaccine, which I never wanted and immediately stopped getting shots of after I was no longer mandated to have it anymore by the school and would not have to worry about facing any consequences such as not being able to set foot on campus anymore if I didn’t have it. If the vaccine wasn’t the cause, I still believe that it may have significantly contributed to what happened.”

This all started last February when the saliva glands under either side of my jawline became swollen to the size of small eggs and created a few nodules along the midline of my throat/thyroid. It also created a vein that ran from the right gland all the way up to behind my right ear. While not painful, it was still very concerning and shortly after, I started waking up with top of the foot/calf cramps and was afraid to stretch my legs in the morning because of it. By May, I started waking up up to 3 times a night and had foot spasms lasting up to 3 minutes each time.

This progressed into conscious seizures that went up the entire right side of my body. These were involuntarily muscle contractions—spasms that would travel from my toes/foot to my calf/knee, then hip, and finally would end with my neck jerking to the right. This includes the involuntary contraction of different muscle groups in rapid succession, and all you can do is flail around during this time and wait for it to be over while your body becomes physically exhausted from the workout. Shortly thereafter, I not only experienced this several times a night, but occasionally during the daytime as well. The spasms and conscious seizures resulted in a condition called foot drop that alters your gait and ability to walk, so by June, I was tripping over my own toes, dragging my right leg behind me, lost the ability to run away from predators, experiencing muscle weakness and numbness in my leg and the outer two toes, had pain in the ligament down the outside of my leg, and I couldn’t go anywhere without shoes on because I needed to avoid stepping on my own dead toes—sustained pieces of useless meat that try to fold under themselves all the time. Constantly stretching to try to prevent or avoid spasms and seizures from coming on quickly became my new reality. In the case of conscious seizures, I can often feel what’s called an “Aura,” which is like a warning or a rush of fear and anxiety that washes over you before the seizure starts. I can no longer voluntarily turn my ankle to the left or right anymore, it sometimes kicks out when I walk or rolls to the side causing me to fall over, and the ligament frequently gives out at the knee, which sometimes causes my leg to become very bouncy if I put any weight on it. By July, I could tell that the poison had entered into my brain, and I started to get shooting headache-like pains throughout my head multiple times a day.

I also experienced many abnormal sensations throughout this whole time in several different places of my body, such as a burning sensation of nerves, and a permanently bruised spot that developed on my lower back/spine. I acquired intense episodes of vertigo in July also, that has persisted along with the swollen saliva glands and subsequent symptoms of foot drop. Episodes of vertigo cause me to get dizzy and almost blackout if I scooch down and stand back up too fast or if I turn around or to the side too abruptly, which doesn’t have to be very abruptly at all. More recently, I started losing my vision several times a day, with it going blurry or bright white, feeling like the pupils are dilated. The tumor is sitting on my vision center and in a place where it can cause physical and cognitive impairment, seizures, or memory loss. I’m very concerned about possibly going completely blind before I have the surgery, which is scheduled for February 20th, four days after my 36 birthday.

UMFK COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate 2022:

UMFK COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate 2021:

*

May 2023 – Analucia Cabanillas Cespedes was diagnosed with a Grade 3 gemistocytic astrocytoma on June 15, 2021, and a 7.5cm tumor was surgically removed.

She went on to pursue nursing school at University of Florida which mandated COVID-19 Vaccines (to be able to do rotations in the hospitals).

In May 2023 she was diagnosed with a new brain tumor, a Grade 4 Glioblastoma which is inoperable, has affected her mobility and has confined her to a wheelchair. It is “the size of a pear”.
April 28, 2023 – Athens, GA – 21 year old University of Georgia Senior student Liza Burke had brain bleed on March 10, 2023 while on vacation in Mexico, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma on her brainstem, and died 4 weeks later on April 28, 2023 (click here).
  • It doesn’t appear University of Georgia mandated COVID-19 Vaccines for their students but did mandate it for all employees including student employees
  • Should a University be legally liable for pressuring but not mandating?

Ed Dowd – England and Wales Cancer Deaths:

Image

My Take…

Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines cause Turbo Brain Cancers, which, in my estimation are in the Top 3 Turbo Cancers caused by mRNA jabs.

The tragic story of University of Maine at Fort Kent student Leann Kaiser is unique and very important because it has these elements:

  1. She was forced to take COVID-19 Vaccines due to illegal COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates forced on her by the University, where she attended a Bachelor of Science program.
  2. She believes the COVID-19 Vaccines, which she didn’t want, caused her brain cancer or contributed to it.
  3. She provides imaging of her brain tumor.

It is very rare that we get a clear story of forced vaccination, with the vaccine victim realizing the damage done by the vaccines, and then photographic evidence of the Turbo Cancer itself.

*

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Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.

Featured image is from COVID Intel


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

Reviews

This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon

In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia

In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig 

Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac

A reading of  Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late.  You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

We encourage you to support the eBook project by making a donation through Global Research’s DonorBox “Worldwide Corona Crisis” Campaign Page

Lower Your Blood Pressure with This Simple Exercise

February 15th, 2024 by Dr. Joseph Mercola

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Simple isometric exercises, including wall sits, offer a natural strategy to lower blood pressure

Out of multiple forms of physical activity, isometric exercise came out on top as “the most effective mode in reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure”

Broken down to individual exercises, wall squats (isometric) were the most effective for reducing systolic blood pressure while running (aerobic) was most effective for reducing diastolic blood pressure

About eight minutes of isometric training three times a week may be enough to significantly lower blood pressure

Wall squats, planks, glute bridge and the overhead hold are examples of simple isometric exercises you can do virtually anywhere

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For the 48.1% of U.S. adults with high blood pressure,1 learning how to do simple isometric exercises, including wall sits, may offer a natural strategy for relief. In fact, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 270 randomized controlled trials looked at the effects of multiple types of exercise, including aerobics, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), resistance training and combined training, on blood pressure.

While all were beneficial, isometric exercise came out on top as “the most effective mode in reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.”2 It turns out that static contraction of muscle as you hold your body in one position, i.e., isometric exercise, may offer blood pressure benefits that some other types of more dynamic movement don’t.

Isometric Exercises Improve Resting Blood Pressure

When it comes to exercise recommendations to lower blood pressure, cardio aerobic-type exercises typically come to mind. But, according to researchers from Canterbury Christ Church University, this is outdated advice based on older study data that excludes HIIT and isometric exercise.3

The meta-analysis, which included clinical trials that analyzed the effects of exercise for two weeks or more on resting blood pressure, found all types of exercise led to significant reductions in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure. However, the greatest reductions occurred after isometric training.4

The top number of your blood pressure measurement, the systolic, is a measurement of the maximum pressure inside your arteries as your heart contracts. The bottom number, the diastolic, is a measurement of the pressure in your blood vessels when your heart is not contracting. Both numbers are important in determining how much damage may occur over time to your blood vessels and other organ systems.

Effectiveness based on the “surface under the cumulative ranking curve” (SUCRA) values for systolic — which refers to the mean probability of being the best for lowering your systolic blood pressure — placed isometric exercise in the No. 1 slot with an effectiveness rating of 98.3%, followed by combined training (75.7%), dynamic resistance training (46.1%), aerobic exercise training (40.5%) and high-intensity interval training (39.4%).5

In rank order, the analysis found significant reductions in resting systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure:

  • Isometric exercise (–8.24/–4.00 mmHg)
  • Combined training (–6.04/–2.54 mmHg)
  • Dynamic resistance training (–4.55/–3.04 mmHg)
  • Aerobic exercise (−4.49/–2.53 mmHg)
  • High-intensity interval training (–4.08/–2.50 mmHg)

Broken down to individual exercises, wall squats (isometric) were the most effective for reducing systolic blood pressure while running (aerobic) was most effective for reducing diastolic blood pressure. Overall, however, isometric exercise worked best for lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Study author Jamie O’Driscoll told The Washington Post:6

“Our main message is that actually engaging in exercise is fantastic and any exercise might reduce your blood pressure. But if you’re an individual who is currently exercising to the guidelines and you’re still having a bit of difficulty reducing that blood pressure and you want to avoid going on medication, perhaps isometrics is an additional mode to complement the exercise you’re already doing.”

What Are Isometric Exercises?

Isometric exercises are low-impact movements that involve holding a position so the same muscle length is maintained, tiring out your muscles to fatigue.7 “Any kind of an exercise that is holding tension in any position which doesn’t involve dynamic movement is generally isometric exercise,” study author Jamie Edwards told The Washington Post.8 In other words, static contraction defines isometric exercise, examples of which include:9

In addition to blood pressure benefits, isometric strength exercises may help strengthen joints better than dynamic strength training,10 and it’s useful for reducing pain while increasing range of motion and functional ability in people with knee osteoarthritis.11 Isometric training is also beneficial for relieving neck pain, improving joint mobility and improving neck dysfunction.12

Past research similarly revealed that isometric resistance training reduces systolic blood pressure by nearly 7 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by close to 4 mmHg. Performing isometric handgrip exercise also significantly reduces systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure, offering another accessible tool for blood pressure health.

As the scientists explained in the journal Medicine, “Low- to moderate-intensity isometric handgrip exercise can be performed anywhere, requires relatively inexpensive equipment, and does not elicit the same level of cardiovascular stress as aerobic exercise.”13 As for how isometric exercise lowers blood pressure so effectively, The Washington Post reported:14

“Isometric exercises effectively lower blood pressure because contracting a muscle and holding the position temporarily reduces blood flow to that muscle, O’Driscoll said. When you release that contraction, blood flow through the muscle tissue increases. This produces important signals that prompt blood vessels to relax more and creates less resistance to blood flow, which ultimately reduces blood pressure, O’Driscoll said.”

Eight Minutes of Isometric Exercise, Three Times a Week

How much isometric exercise is necessary to lower blood pressure? Isometric exercise training programs often use protocols involving four, two-minute contractions separated by one to four-minute rest intervals. The sessions are done three times a week.15 In other words, about eight minutes of isometric training three times a week may significantly lower blood pressure.

A wall sit is one straightforward option that can be easily done in two-minute increments, followed by two minutes of rest and repeated four times. The entire workout is then repeated three times each week. “On average, a regular isometric routine of wall sits lowered systolic blood pressure (the top number) by 10 mmHg and diastolic pressure by 5 mmHg, according to the research,” The Washington Post reported.16

Meditation Exercises Also Lower Blood Pressure

On the topic of low-impact forms of exercise that are useful for maintaining healthy blood pressure, meditation exercises, particularly qigong, are useful for lowering diastolic blood pressure in people with elevated levels,17 while research shows meditation may also help lower blood pressure with just three months of practice, while at the same time decreasing psychological distress and increasing coping ability among young adults.18

Another group of researchers conducted a meta-analysis involving 13 studies on meditation and yoga for blood pressure health. Blood pressure decreased in response to both meditation and yoga, and meditation appeared to be particularly useful in decreasing the blood pressure of subjects older than 60 years.19

The calming effect of meditation has also been shown in numerous studies to benefit blood pressure. In a 2019 study published in the Journal of Human Hypertension, mindfulness meditation was evaluated for its effects on not only blood pressure but also anxiety, stress and depression.

For an eight-week period, participants engaged in mindfulness training for two hours a week, or participated in a control group involving health education talks. The meditation group had lower blood pressure monitoring values after the intervention, and were also less judgmental, more accepting and less depressed than the control group.20

Practicing “mindfulness” means you’re actively paying attention to the moment you’re in right now. Rather than letting your mind wander, when you’re mindful, you’re living in the moment and letting distracting thoughts pass through your mind without getting caught up in their emotional implications.

What Else Works to Lower Blood Pressure?

If your blood pressure is running high, you need to restore your insulin and leptin sensitivity, and the following strategies are among the most effective for doing so:

  • Replace processed foods with whole, unprocessed organic foods.
  • Avoiding seed oils — It would be helpful to also eliminate seeds and nuts unless you have been on a low-LA (linoleic acid) diet for at least three years.
  • Optimize your vitamin D level.
  • Only use healthy fats — Sources of healthy fats to add to your diet include grass fed butter, raw organic dairy, organic pastured egg yolks, coconuts, coconut oil and macadamia nuts and grass fed meats. The best carbs to add would be ripe fruit that you tolerate well. But the key is to make sure your fat intake is below 30%, which you can determine with Cronometer. If you fail to do this, the carbs can convert to fat and change your cholesterol profile unfavorably.
  • Exercise regularly.

Optimizing your sodium to potassium ratio is also important. It’s generally recommended that you consume five times more potassium than sodium, but most Americans get the opposite ratio, eating two times more sodium than potassium. If you eat a lot of processed foods, which contain processed table salt, your sodium to potassium ratio is likely out of balance.

While conventional health care practitioners may suggest you remedy this by limiting salt intake, especially when it comes to lowering the risk of high blood pressure, focusing on increasing potassium is key. Research shows an association between higher potassium intake and lower blood pressure, regardless of sodium intake.21

To improve your ratio, eliminate processed foods, which are very high in processed salt and low in potassium and other essential nutrients. When using added salt, use a natural salt such as Himalayan salt. Further, eat a diet of whole, unprocessed foods, ideally organically and locally-grown to ensure optimal nutrient content.

This type of diet will naturally provide much larger amounts of potassium in relation to sodium. In my view the absolute best way to increase your potassium is by eating ripe fruit. Taking potassium supplements is not a good strategy and will simply not provide you with the benefits you are seeking. Other examples of potassium-rich foods include:22

Latest Obesity Drugs to Do Wonders for Blood Pressure — How Perfect

Eli Lilly’s obesity drug tirzepatide — brand name Zepbound — is being positioned as the latest breakthrough to lower blood pressure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved tirzepatide to manage Type 2 diabetes in 2021, under the brand name Mounjaro, a direct competitor to semaglutide (Ozempic). It was then approved to treat obesity in 2023,23 competing with the popular weight loss drug Wegovy.24

Now, however, tirzepatide is being said to “do wonders” for blood pressure,25 after research published in the journal Hypertension26 found it led to an average 7.4 mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure among those taking the lowest dose. Those taking the highest dose had an average drop of 8 mmHg.27 In a statement from the American Heart Association, study author Dr. James A. de Lemos said:28

“Although tirzepatide has been studied as a weight loss medication, the blood pressure reduction in our patients in this study was impressive. While it is not known if the impact on blood pressure was due to the medication or the participants’ weight loss, the lower blood pressure measures seen with tirzepatide rivaled what is seen for many hypertension medications.”

The news came just days before an announcement by former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tom Frieden called for high blood pressure to be the “focus of the next breakthrough”:29

“In 2023, the weight-loss drug Wegovy and similar medications were a scientific and cultural — and profit-making — breakthrough … But what if we had medications that cost 5,000 times less and are better at preventing heart attacks and strokes? And what if only 1 in 5 people who need these medications get them? That’s the situation with drugs to treat high blood pressure — and it needs to change.”

It seems to be the perfect setup to roll out the next “blockbuster” blood pressure medication, but tirzepatide can cause side effects ranging from nausea and diarrhea to hair loss and gastroesophageal reflux disease.30

It also causes thyroid C-cell tumors in rats and, according to the FDA, “contains warnings for inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, hypoglycemia (blood sugar that is too low), acute kidney injury, diabetic retinopathy (damage to the eye’s retina) in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and suicidal behavior or thinking.”31

Given these significant risks, it’s important to remember that blood pressure can often be effectively lowered via lifestyle changes, including simple isometric exercises.

How to Perform 6 Popular Isometric Exercises

Getting back to isometric exercises, they provide a simple way to support healthy blood pressure while offering additional health gains. Best of all, you can do them virtually anywhere. If you’d like to give it a try, here are six examples of isometric exercises and how to perform them.

1. Wall squat and low squat — For the wall squat, stand with your back flat against a wall, then walk your feet about 1.5 feet (0.5 meter) out from the wall. With your feet shoulder-width apart, back flat against the wall and your abs tight, squat until your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle, or as low as you can comfortably go. Remain squatting for as long as you can, then stand back up by pushing up from your heels.

The low squat is similar, but here you’re not using a wall. Start by standing with your feet slightly more than hip-width apart. Keep your hands on your hips, or straight out in front of you. Push your hips back into a sitting position while bending your knees. Keep your spine long (don’t round forward). Hold for 10 to 30 seconds, then return to the starting position.

2. High plank and side plank — For the high plank, start in a kneeling pushup with your hands shoulder-distance apart. Straighten your knees, pushing down into the balls of your feet to raise your body into a high plank position, which looks exactly like the upward position of a pushup.

With your hands aligned with your shoulders and legs straight, engage your core and hold for 20 to 60 seconds, or as long as you can maintain proper form.

For the side plank, start out lying on your left side with legs straight (your hips, knees and feet stacked). Bend your left elbow and place your forearm on the ground under your shoulder. Push your left forearm into the ground to lift your torso and hips off the ground.

Engage your core to maintain your body in a straight line from head to heel. You can keep your right arm by your side or stretched up in the air. Hold for at least 10 seconds. Lower your torso down and switch sides.

3. Overhead hold — Using a suitable weight (based on your level of fitness) with both hands, engage your core and extend your arms above your head. Keep your arms fully extended and in line with your shoulders. Hold the weight steady over your head for 20 to 30 seconds.

4. Glute bridge — Lie on your back. Bend your knees so that your heels are about 12 to 16 inches from your behind. Keep your arms by your sides. Press into your heels, brace your core, and push your pelvis upwards by squeezing your glutes. Maintain the bridge position for 30 seconds without letting your hips sink.

5. Hollow-body hold — Lie on your back with your legs extended toward the ceiling, perpendicular to the floor. Squeeze your core to press your low back into the floor, then raise your head and shoulders a few inches off the floor while simultaneously lowering your legs as close to the floor as possible. Hold until you can’t hold any longer, then lower your head and shoulders to the floor.

6. Incline pushup hold — Place your hands on a sturdy surface, such as a bench or low table. Position your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Walk backward until you’re in a pushup position, with your body weight supported on your hands and the balls of your feet. Engage your core and make sure your shoulders are not pushing up toward your ears.

Bend your elbows as in the downward motion of a pushup until your chest nearly touches the bench or table. Your arms should flare outward, forming 45-degree angles with your torso. Pause here and hold as long as you can, then step forward to stand up.

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Notes

1 U.S. CDC, Facts About Hypertension

2, 5 British Journal of Sports Medicine 2023;57:1317-1326

3, 4 Canterbury Christ Church University July 26, 2023

6, 8, 14, 16 The Washington Post January 30, 2024 (Archived)

7 Cleveland Clinic September 14, 2023

9 Vertimax 20 Isometric Exercises

10 Int J Sports Med. 2019 May;40(6):363-375. doi: 10.1055/a-0863-4539. Epub 2019 Apr 3

11 Cureus. 2021 Oct; 13(10): e18972

12 Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Sep 30; 101(39): e30864

13 Medicine (Baltimore). 2016 Dec; 95(52): e5791

15 British Journal of Sports Medicine 2023;57:1317-1326., Screening and study eligibility

17 Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017; 2017: 9784271

18 American Journal of Hypertension, December 2009

19 J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Sep;23(9):685-695. doi: 10.1089/acm.2016.0234. Epub 2017 Apr 6

20 J Hum Hypertens. 2019 Mar;33(3):237-247. doi: 10.1038/s41371-018-0130-6. Epub 2018 Nov 13

21 American Journal of Physiology — Endocrinology and Metabolism April 4, 2017

22 Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Potassium

23, 29 The Washington Post February 7, 2024 (Archived)

24 The New York Times November 8, 2023

25, 27 Gizmodo February 5, 2024

26 Hypertension February 5, 2024

28 American Heart Association February 5, 2024

30, 31 U.S. FDA November 8, 2023

Featured image is from Mercola

BRICS and the Global South Cooperation

February 15th, 2024 by Prof. Abdullahi Shehu

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Introduction

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 ‘the tectonic plates of geopolitics have been shifting’ and with current geopolitical tensions, including the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Israeli-Hamas war, new alliances and potential rivalry among world powers seeking for influence in Africa and other regions of the world, ‘we may see the world becoming more multipolar’. Despite the plethora of multilateral institutions, multipolarity has become a cliché as member states forge new alliances to address perceived injustices in the existing system.

BRICS emerged from the Russia-India-China strategic triangle called RIC. The group that was promoted by Russia ostensibly to challenge the perceived monopoly or hegemony of the United States of America (USA), thus renewing old ties with India and fostering the newly discovered friendship with China. BRICS is the acronym denoting the emerging national economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The term was originally coined in 2001 as BRIC by the Goldman Sachs economist Jim O Neil in his report, Building Better Global Economic BRICs. (Global Economic paper No:66) then South Africa joined in 2010, leading to the transformation from BRIC to BRICS.

This paper examines the emergence and evolution of BRICS in the context of the current geopolitical situation and economic alliances for sustainable development.

It reviews the objectives of BRICS and discusses the relevance and attraction of the bloc in the 21st century, especially within the framework of Global South cooperation. The prospects, opportunities and challenges for meaningful and constructive partnership within the framework of BRICS are also examined. Our conclusion is that “the organization has struggled to have the kind of geopolitical influence that matches its collective economic reach.

It also embodies a synergy of cultures and explores a model of genuine multilateral diplomacy. Its structure is formed in compliance with the 21st century realities. Efforts within its framework are based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and justice”. Furthermore, “while the BRICS bloc can have significant influence, it will not be sufficient to make a revolution in the existing international relations”. 

The Relevance of BRICS in the 21st Century Multilateralism 

BRICS member countries share the desire for the world to accord them a larger role through their common platform for global reform. Although the framework of BRICS is more or less informal, that is, without a Secretariat as in the case of most multilateral organizations, the organization seems be assuming greater significance due to its philosophy and principles of equality. The major roles of BRICS are derived largely from statements issued at Summits. Over the years, BRICS has focused on highlighting the need for emerging powers to have a greater voice in global governance. In the wake of the global financial crisis, the joint statement by BRICS leaders in 2009 contained strong declarations on the importance of coordinating financial policy through the G20 and the need to reform international financial institutions to create “greater voice and representation” for emerging economies, including a more transparent process for leadership selection.

In the joint statement at the end of the third Summit in 2011, China and Russia reiterated the importance they attached to the status of India, Brazil, and South Africa in international affairs, and underscored the importance of their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN. By the fourth Summit held in New Delhi in 2012, BRICS stressed that its member countries represent 43 percent of the world’s population, signaling clearly their concern for more representation in global institutions. This position has been echoed in many subsequent communications.

While in 2010, the group was at the infant stage of its formation and could be easily dismissed as yet another inconsequential global institution, today, it is harder to say that the BRICS does not matter. The five countries have rapidly used the BRICS platform to signal to the world that the old twentieth-century institutions have to change. This signal transformed into action from 2012 as its diplomatic calendar continues to expand yearly, with a host of interactions to both coordinate policy positions, as well as expand official and people-to-people dialogue, generally on non-contentious global issues – climate change, transnational organized crime, etc. 

Additionally, it is interesting to note that what began with Summit-level gatherings and, separate meetings of Foreign Ministers, now include meetings Sectoral Ministers, Central Bank Governors, National Security Advisors, a Business Council, a Think Tanks Council, a Parliamentary Forum, a Cultural Festival, as well as a Friendship Cities and Local Governments Cooperation Forum. Among all the structural frameworks of BRICS, the creation of the New Development Bank (NDB), along with a Contingent Reserves Arrangement (CRA) has been adjudged the most significant after long-pending reforms of IMF and the World Bank failed to materialize. The NDB has since become fully operational, and recently, Egypt has joined the bank as a new member, while other countries, including Turkey are warming to do the same.

In accordance with the Charter, each member having equal voice have also contributed equal share of the $50 billion initial subscription capital. Similarly, while the governance structure emphasizes equal and rotational representation, the NDB operates from its Headquarters in Shanghai under the leadership of K.V. Kamath, a former CEO of India’s ICICI Bank as its first President. In April 2017, just under five years after the idea of the NDB came out of the Delhi Summit, the bank signed its first development loan agreement with Brazil.

The BRICS countries indeed have deepened their partnership over the past years, developing a real organization out of a mere idea, to prove its capacity to create new financial institutions with equal opportunities. Resulting from the removal of Russia from the global SWIFT payment system, the BRICS are working towards a new financial infrastructure, an alternative payment and internet networks to assert the multipolarity of the world economy. 

From all indications, the emergence of BRICS and the level of commitment it demonstrates in the pursuit of its goals of economic development among its members, has indeed, shown that BRICS has come to stay. Being founded on the principles of equality of member states, right of access to development funds, developing countries and emerging economies consider the relevance of BRICS as a global institution. Many countries will soon come to terms with BRICS due to the significant influence it commands on global socio-economic affairs in the build up to the emerging world order. One major characteristic identical to BRICS member countries revolves around their population, natural resource endowment and economic potentials.

Indeed, the outcome of the XV BRICS Summit, held in South Africa from 22 to 24 August 2023, with the theme: “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism”, may have added impetus to the traction of the bloc based on its motivating ‘commitment to inclusive multilateralism, support for comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council; support for open, transparent, fair, predictable, inclusive, equitable and non-discriminatory rules-based multilateral trading system’

BRICS XVI Summit in Kazan, Russia

Russia currently assumes the leadership of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa plus five (5) new members (Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia) that ascended unto the association in January 2024.  

Until the forthcoming XVI summit next October, Russia has already lined up a comprehensive pack of activities aimed at building an appreciable image and direction, and creating a better future based on its historical developments and contemporary geopolitical realities for the association.

In an exclusive address to ….Russian President, Vladimir Putin outlined the main priorities for the Summit, with the theme: Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security. During the year, Russia plans to hold over 200 events in three key areas of BRICS cooperation: politics and security, economy and finance, as well as cultural and humanitarian contacts. The BRICS summit scheduled to take place in Kazan, the Russian Federation in October 2024, will be the culmination of Russia’s chairmanship.

One of the crucial tasks is to ensure the integration of new participants in the BRICS mechanisms without compromising their efficiency. To implement Johannesburg II Declaration, Russia will devise the modality of establishing the category of BRICS partner states and create a list of potential candidates to present the report at the Kazan summit.  In addition, Russia will contribute to the comprehensive implementation of the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership until 2025 and the Action Plan for BRICS Innovation Cooperation for 2021–2024.

As the first step, Russia plans to ensure that the decision adopted during the XV summit, held on August 22-24, 2023, in South Africa to expand BRICS membership becomes a reality, as a particularly important step to strengthen the position of BRICS which epitomizes the diversity of the multipolar world. Both Kremlin and the Foreign Affairs Ministry have indicated that more than 30 countries, have expressed interest in establishing close ties with BRICS.

The second step will see Russia hosting a number of major international cultural events, including the World Youth Festival, the Games of the Future which is a mix of physical sports and cybersports, and the sports games of the BRICS countries. Both games will be held in Kazan, capital of the Republic of Tatarstan (the Games of the Future in February, and the BRICS Games in the summer of 2024).

Already,  during a cabinet meeting on 26 January 2024, Putin had directed relevant government ministries and departments to draft proposals on expansion of cooperation with BRICS colleagues in the ‘climate area,  joint developments in the area of monitoring climatically-active gases and measuring the carbon balance of ecosystems, including the development of systems for collection and processing of data for estimation of human-caused and natural flows of greenhouse gases and other climatically-active elements’. 

The cabinet is also to develop mutual recognition of tools and technologies in this field by BRICS nations. Another area of work is laying the groundwork for development of joint technical scientific solutions aimed at easing the human impact on the environment, climate and adjustment of economies and the population of member states to climate changes. The order should be executed by June 3.

Certainly, in order for the forum to expand its geography even further, with the need to use the most advanced technologies for possible remote participation from anywhere in the world. And approach for consolidating BRICS scope of activities and as an explicit indication of collective team work under Russia’s presidency, Federation Council (the upper house of the Russian Parliament) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko has added her voice to BRICS 2024. For the first time within the Fourth Eurasian Women’s Forum from September 18 to 20 in St. Petersburg, Matviyenko proposed a special session on women – the BRICS Women’s Forum. She stated inter alia that “As part of the fourth forum, we plan to hold the BRICS Women’s Forum for the first time. This BRICS Women’s Forum will present both the results of existing projects and new initiatives, which will strengthen partnerships between the BRICS member countries, including on the women’s agenda,” 

Prospects an Opportunities for BRICS Expansion

In the latest BRICS summit, some of the observations and objectives were spelled out in the declaration:

“With the addition of six new members, BRICS now has 30 percent of the world economy within its collaboration, with a combined GDP of US$30.76 trillion. It also constitutes 40 percent of the world’s population. The necessity of expanding trade and investment among the BRICS member states and strengthening their relations was emphasized by the summit leaders. By 2050, leaders at the summit hope to account for 50 percent of the world’s GDP, which will fundamentally change the economic landscape.”

‘It is estimated that by 2040, the BRICS group will account for more than 50% of the global GDP, because enlargement within the BRICS plus framework through integration of a number of large countries will facilitate the achievement of about 50% of global production of goods and services’.

And,

‘in March 2022 experts from the IMF had warned that the heavy financial sanctions imposed on could threaten to gradually weaken the dominance of the US dollar, lead to a more multilateral international systems and encourage the emergence of small currency blocks based on trade among a certain group of countries. Already, it is noted that the BRICS countries have established a contingency reserve arrangement (CRA), a mechanism aimed at ensuring liquidity for member-states when they are confronted by short term balance of payment crises’.

In this regard, BRICS offers a model that motivates countries to join. Scholars have argued that the use of a single currency that is being contemplated or local currencies in trade exchange among members could be an effective counter balance to the monopoly or dominance of the US dollar. It is assumed that the dollar system, with its great deal of volatility, systematically undervalues the currencies of Third World countries’. In addition, ‘elevated interest rates and stronger dollar make it more expensive for for African countries to service dollar denominated debt, something that has pushed many countries into debt distress’. The fact that Egypt, Ethiopia and other countries of the Global South are joining BRICS could mean that they are gradually moving away from the dollar-based system of global trade, experts told the Jeune Afrique news magazine.  For Africa the use of the dollar in trade means that countries have no chance to trade with each other in local currencies, Elizabeth Rossiello, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenyan financial company AZA Finance, said. African nations are looking for new ways to raise money as global financial entities, such as the World Bank, fail to give sufficient attention to the continent, she stressed.

Characterized as a supra-global structure, BRICS “encapsulates the richness of multipolar world” and particularly embraces the developing Global South. BRICS is also attractive to developing countries because it can act as a buffer from US sanctions, Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, said. The countries of the global South see the association as a counterweight to the US-dominated global financial system, the analyst added.

That said, a number of experts note that the expansion of BRICS will not lead to the fragmentation of the global economy.

Adam Slater, lead economist for the Oxford Economics company, believes that the integration’s total share in global trade stands at a mere 3%. Meanwhile, former employee at the White House and the World Bank Harry Broadman thinks that joining BRICS has more of a political and symbolic meaning, not economic.

Nevertheless, Yaroslav Lissovolik, a former Chief Economist and Head of Research in Deutsche Bank Russia and former Advisor to Russia’s Executive Director in the International Monetary Fund and now the founder of BRICS+ Analytics – a think-tank that explores the potential of the BRICS+ format in the global economy, also argues that there is the strong expectation that BRICS will consolidate its role within the emerging geopolitical processes and global competition for Africa. China and Russia are currently making efforts to assert influence more aggressively, despite the challenges and obstacles, in cooperating with Africa.

According to Lissovolik, there are not too many economic mechanisms created thus far by the BRICS — the main economic contribution of the BRICS has been the creation of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). The BRICS NDB is set to expand its membership to include more developing economies. There are also plans within BRICS to widen the mandate of the BRICS CRA to make it more effective in supporting member countries. What is lacking at this stage is a financial mechanism that would facilitate the payments in national currencies among the BRICS economies — discussions on the creation of such a mechanism (widely referred to as BRICS Pay) have been ongoing since 2017, but progress in this area has been moderate at best. Furthermore, the issue of the creation of a common currency or an accounting unit for all BRICS countries has also progressed slowly. (See BRICS+ Analytics website, October 2023)

Within BRICS, China and Russia will likely cooperate towards creating those financial and economic mechanisms that are lacking in the global economy. The purpose of BRICS is not to undermine any economy, as the leaders have made it clear that ‘they are not friends against someone but work in each other’s interests, to create alternative cooperative platforms for economic cooperation among countries.

 In the longer term, the African Union (AU) could also participate in the reconstruction and the reform of the main global institutions and fora such as the WTO, the G20 and the UN Security Council. In 2023, the AU became a member of the G20, and since January 2021 has been successful in advancing the project of Africa’s regional integration via the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Again, the best way in which the BRICS could contribute towards the success of this regional integration project is via greater trade openness to African economies. The success of the AfCFTA would go a long way towards overcoming the limitations faced by Africa’s economy in terms of low intra-continental regional connectivity and trade.

Considered as the largest single continental market, the AfCFTA spanning 54 states over the next years has the huge potential to unite more than 1.4 billion people in a $2.5 trillion economic bloc. It is expected to boost intra-African trade by 52.3 per cent by 2025, increase Africa’s income by up to $450 billion by 2035, according to the assessment report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF supports expansion of BRICS to make use of the advantage of global integration, IMF Spokesperson Julie Kozack noted at a regular briefing for reporters. “We do welcome countries working together, finding ways to trade, to become integrated, so that more people can benefit from the gains of global integration.,” Kozack said. (See IMF briefings – Jan. 11, 2024)

Therefore, to a great extent, individual BRICS members and/or collectively would have direct focus on more integration and more global cooperation. It has the potential to generate a range of benefits through supporting trade creation, structural transformation, productive employment and poverty reduction. Further to that, the AfCFTA, without much doubts, opens up more various opportunities for both local African and foreign investors from around the world.

In the context of this article discussion, it is important to state that BRICS African members (Ethiopia, Egypt and South Africa) could be used as the gateway into the vast markets. BRICS has to necessarily leverage unto this and to deepen Africa’s trade integration and effectively implement the agreement through policy advocacy and strategy development. It could possibly utilize trade integration processes in close collaboration with the Regional Economic Communities and specialized African trade chambers across Africa.

Despite profound challenges, the AU member states are continuing to stride towards continental unity. Understanding this necessity, the 15th Summit in South Africa noted in its proceedings,

“The BRICS summit members agreed to extend their support for an African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The summit stressed the value of the political stability of the African continent in building market certainty. Leaders at the summit also explored potential ways and methods to strengthen communication and cooperation to expand AfCFTA. If successful, and if implementation moves ahead, such a move by the BRICS countries will help foster new dynamics of engagement, and on several other contemporary issues such as drug trafficking and terrorism…. The summit also discussed increasing population in BRICS countries and their increasing food security concerns. In order to improve food security, lower costs, and to achieve a carbon neutral economy, BRICS leaders favored the role of modern technology in advancing agriculture. They also hoped to make Africa a global food basket.”

Dr. Srinivas Junuguru, an Associate Professor, and Abhinaya Rayee, Woxsen School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, Woxsen University, Hyderabad, Telangana co-authored an article in which they stated that the enlarged association now constitutes 46% of the world’s population and 29.6% of the world’s GDP. And that BRICS aims to defend the interests of developing nations amid attempts by developed nations to impose their standards. With the potential for a new reserve currency, discussions within BRICS on settling international trade in local currencies are ongoing, challenging the dollar’s monopoly. The growth of BRICS is fostering a multi-polar world, creating opportunities for closer ties and collaboration between developing nations. However, concerns persist about the association’s cohesion, given the diverse allegiances of its members, particularly amid tense relations between India and China.

Challenges

The potentials and success story of BRICS notwithstanding, there are significant challenges towards actualizing its goals in a globalized economy. First, is the fact that the prosperity of the world is dependent on energy and market, and whereas BRICS has this comparative advantage to some extent because of Russia’s energy and India’s and Chinese markets, the growing rivalry between the United States and China, the two largest world economies poses significant challenge for the growth and prosperity of BRICS. 

Secondly, the dominance of the US dollar in the global financial system constitutes a significant challenge to the BRICS group, especially when it comes to introducing its own currency in financial institutions worldwide. Besides, the US dollar is also the dominant currency in the global stock markets, as well as markets of goods, bank deposits, funding of development projects and loans.

Thirdly, apart from Russia, all the other BRICS members have a strong connection with the West including China, through trade. It would therefore be difficult for countries to severe their financial ties with the US and West in general. China is the biggest exporter in the group and has enormous surplus, however, its currency, the Yuan, cannot favourably compete with the US dollar because it is not on the global markets. Despite China’s significant power in global trade, the Yuan accounts for less 2.5% of global transactions, less than the dollar share of about 40% and the Euro, which is at the level of 36%’.

With respect to the group’s goal of creating a single/common currency, they may connect with the country which has a low inflation rate, which is China. The challenge, however, is that they would need also a common monetary policy and perhaps a common regulator, which may not be in tandem with Brazil and India’s overall policies. China and India have been historical rivals, as India is antagonistic to China’s expansion in the South-East Asia and Pacific and; while India is close to the US or the West, so to say, China is a real or potential rival of the US in the global economy. At some point, it was thought that India was opposed to the expansion of the BRICS group contrary to the positions of Russia and China, the two big partners. 

Conclusion

 The BRICS, which academic experts referred to as a grouping of developing nations, initially focused on economic cooperation, has evolved into a significant player in global politics. The organization’s disposition as a competitor to the Western influence in the global economy and its pursuit of reforms align with the national interests of its members have gained traction and offered greater attraction and motivation for countries to join. With substantial contributions to global GDP, strategic placement, and influence in international trade and security, BRICS plays a crucial role. However, challenges include the lack of a formal charter for admitting new members and existing conflicts, such as those between China and India, which may hinder the association’s development. A collaborative approach between major members is crucial for BRICS to overcome internal conflicts and achieve its objectives. 

There are prospects, opportunities and challenges for such partnership within the framework of BRICS. However, “the organization has struggled to have the kind of geopolitical influence that matches its collective economic reach. It also embodies a synergy of cultures and explores a model of genuine multilateral diplomacy. Its structure is formed in compliance with the 21st century realities. Efforts within its framework are based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and justice”. Furthermore, “while the BRICS block can have significant influence, it will not be sufficient to make a revolution in the existing international relations”. Russian Federation has taken over the BRICS presidency for 2024 from South Africa and that will be a game changing incident in contemporary international relations.

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Abdullahi Y. Shehu is Professor of Criminology; former Director General of the ECOWAS Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa, and former Ambassador of Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Russian Federation.

Professor Maurice Okoli is a fellow at the Institute for African Studies and the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences. He is also a fellow at the North-Eastern Federal University of Russia. He is an expert at the Roscongress Foundation and the Valdai Discussion Club.

As an academic researcher and economist with keen interest in current geopolitical changes and the emerging world order, Maurice Okoli frequently contributes articles for publication in reputable media portals on different aspects of the interconnection between developing and developed countries, particulary in Asia, Africa and Europe. With comments and suggestions, he can be reached via email: [email protected]

Professors Abdullahi Y. Shehu and Maurice Okoli are frequent contributors to Global Research.

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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February 14, 2024

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

President Biden:

We, the undersigned scholars at colleges and universities across the United States, are writing in the strongest possible terms to express our disapproval of your administration’s ongoing policy in Israel-Palestine, especially the Gaza Strip, and to advise a better way forward.

For over 120 days now, we have witnessed the staggering civilian casualties of Israel’s war on Gaza which has, on average, killed one child every eight minutes, killed two mothers every hour, and caused 10 children to lose one or both legs in Gaza every day. The decimation of medical infrastructure and the restriction of basic necessities including food and clean water by Israel’s blockade have left 1.1 million children threatened by malnutrition and preventable disease. Some 2 million Palestinians (85% of Gaza’s population) have been forced from their homes which, like every university in Gaza and some 390 educational institutions overall, have been largely demolished and reduced to rubble. Indeed, in 100 days, Israel dropped nearly 30,000 bombs and shells on Gaza—eight times more than the US used in Iraq in six years. The fact that this unprecedented carnage and destruction is being carried out with US weapons your administration has continued to provide to the Netanyahu government—without conditions, bypassing Congress to do so, and while blocking calls for a ceasefire—is indefensible.

We unequivocally condemn any attacks on civilians, whether they are Israelis or Palestinians or anyone else in the human family. Hence, we condemn all atrocities committed against Israeli civilians by Hamas or other armed groups on October 7, 2023. Moreover, we condemn any deliberate, callous, or grossly negligent acts of violence harming a single civilian—especially but not limited to children—anywhere in the world, at any time.

We therefore urge your administration to apply human rights, international humanitarian law, and US pressure consistently, not only when it comes to the attacks committed by Hamas or other militants on October 7, 2023, which killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 36 children. Upholding this basic moral and legal principle demands that American officials also condemn the Israeli military’s siege and bombardment of Gaza that has now killed over 27,000 Palestinians, including at least 10,000 children. Yet, Mr. President, you have not only failed to condemn the ongoing massacre in Gaza. You have enabled it.

When our political leaders fail to act or even speak out against the injustices of the age, we believe it is the responsibility of scholars, writers, artists, and other civic, educational, and moral leaders to break the silence. We also believe in speaking candidly and plainly to the US public, not mincing words, especially as the Israeli military has used on average more lethal force than any other conflict in the twenty-first century to decimate civilian life and infrastructure in Gaza, rendering the territory virtually uninhabitable.

Given the unprecedented scale, duration, and nature of Israel’s ongoing assault and multiple statements by Israeli officials conveying an intent to destroy all of Gaza under the pretext of destroying Hamas, there are substantial risks that genocide is unfolding in Gaza right now. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has found this charge plausible in its interim ruling on January 26, 2024 in South Africa v. Israel, and, more recently, a United States federal district judge has declared that “the current treatment of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military may plausibly constitute a genocide in violation of international law.” These developments have only strengthened our resolve to speak out against atrocities taking place with US support in real time.

Mr. President, to save countless more lives, to prevent a spiral into wider regional war, and to disassociate the US and your administration from further complicity in gross human rights violations and war crimes, including the substantial risk of genocide, we urge you to take the following actions:

(1) Demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Israel-Palestine and an end to Israel’s blockade so that food, water, medicine, electricity, fuel, and other lifesaving necessities can reach Palestinian civilians facing starvation, disease, and exposure to the elements, to the scale of need. Furthermore, only with a ceasefire can aid teams rescue or recover the estimated 8,000 Palestinians trapped or dead under the rubble.

(2) Demand the peaceful release of all remaining Israeli hostages and Palestinian political prisoners through further negotiations. Many of the estimated 7,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees currently held by Israel are children or adolescents, and a large proportion are being detained indefinitely without charge. We also note that the release of virtually all of the 110 Israeli hostages who have returned to their families alive thus far was secured by truce, negotiation, or prisoner exchange.

(3) Refrain from dismissing legal proceedings underway at the ICJ, and here we specify South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, which prominent US officials described as “meritless,” “counterproductive,” and “without any basis in fact whatsoever,” even before leading scholarly authorities on genocide submitted their testimony. Moreover, US spokespersons should avoid promoting Israeli government accusations which independent investigations have debunked or cast serious doubts upon. As scholars and educators, we cannot overstate the importance of accurate reporting and statements by US officials to help deescalate this conflict, to honor victims and bring an end to the violence, and to establish accountability for all crimes committed since October 7.

(4) Support the authority of the ICJ and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate alleged genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes—including but not limited to extrajudicial killings, mass murder, sexual violence, hostage-taking, arbitrary detention and unlawful confinement, torture, wanton destruction of civilian infrastructure, and use of starvation—committed by all armed parties in Israel-Palestine from October 7, 2023 until the end of hostilities. Our federal Leahy Law demands that particular attention be paid to gross human rights violations carried out with US-provided weapons and to the attendantcivilian toll in Gaza, which leading humanitarian and human rights agencies, journalists, and academics—including multiple scholars of genocide and the Holocaust—warn may constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Furthermore, as a signatory to the UN Genocide Convention and relevant legal protocols, the US must be ready to assist in the enforcement of existing and future ICJ and ICC judgments through the UN Security Council, including the ICJ’s provisional measures of January 26 ordering Israel to prevent a genocide against the Palestinians and to report on all measures taken to implement the Court’s orders within one month.

(5) Immediately restore funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Not only is the US at risk of being complicit in the commission of genocide but it will also be violating its separate affirmative obligation to prevent genocide if the US does not take every measure at its disposal to ensure the implementation of the ICJ provisional measures, and here we specify the provision of humanitarian aid to the scale of need. As multiple humanitarian agencies and genocide prevention experts have expressly warned, the withdrawal of funding for UNRWA threatens to impede the provision of humanitarian aid in Gaza when food, water, and other necessities are already scarce, and thereby represents a shift “from potential complicity in genocide to direct involvement in engineered famine.” Such actions contribute to conditions likely to result in the destruction of the Palestinian people in whole or in part—in other words, genocide.

(6) In light of our domestic and international legal obligations, immediately halt the transfer of weapons, munitions, and other military equipment to any parties of the conflict in Israel-Palestine. This freeze must apply not only to the Israeli government and Hamas, but to any armed groups and private citizens in Israel-Palestine including the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Golan, until the atrocities of October 7, 2023 and since have been thoroughly and impartially investigated by the ICJ and/or the ICC; and until sufficient mechanisms are in place to ensure against continued and future violations of US and international law.

We are not alone in our concerns. In mid-October 2023, over 300 US legal scholars warned your administration about the dangers of supporting PM Netanyahu’s open-ended war on Gaza, including foreseeable war crimes and a humanitarian catastrophe in the making. On November 8, signaling unease, 26 United States Senators (to be copied on this letter) requested assurances from you on the legality and viability of Israel’s military operations in Gaza—including the safety of Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians—and whether the fight against Hamas would not “produce the same strategic mistakes as many US military operations over the past few decades.” And on December 11, leading US humanitarian agencies described the unprecedented catastrophe generated by Israel’s air strikes and blockade of Gaza’s population—half of whom are children, all of whom face the prospect of starvation and fatal diseases if they survive what you have yourself characterized as Israel’s effectively indiscriminate bombing campaign.

Mr. President, with all due respect, there is simply no explanation that PM Netanyahu—or you—could offer to justify this ongoing massacre and weaponization of humanitarian aid against the people of Gaza. You must heed these warnings, which have emanated even from within your own administration. As scholars and educators, we object in the strongest possible terms to the collective punishment of Palestinians, including the use of starvation as a war tactic and the recent suspension of US support for UNRWA, a lifeline for Gaza’s 2.2 million people. Such grossly disproportionate policies are not only cruel and immoral. They are unlawful and will not enhance the security of Israelis, Palestinians, or Americans. We hold, therefore, that the path to peace is not and cannot be through killing, starving, displacing, or ethnically cleansing Palestinians. The path to peace requires meaningfully recognizing not only the human rights and aspirations of Israelis, but the equal human rights and aspirations of Palestinians to freedom, self-determination, and safety, as well.

Finally, we call on you as our President to demand that care and vigilance be extended to all threatened and vulnerable communities here in the United States. Protecting our Jewish, Arab, and Muslim students, and our Palestinian and Israeli students, is not a zero-sum game. They are intertwined responsibilities for us, and so should it be for you and Congress. Hence, we reject antisemitism as we reject anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim prejudice and any other form of racism, bigotry, or hate speech, on and off our campuses. We also reject the weaponizing of antisemitism to silence legitimate criticism of Israeli state policies and those speaking up for Palestinian human rights. Ultimately, a just and peaceful resolution between Palestinians and Israelis is the only way to heal the tensions and polarization tearing apart college campuses, including university administrations, and rippling across US society at large.

As academics, we place a premium on the advancement of just, peaceful, and collaborative resolutions to shared problems, based on credible evidence, critical inquiry, and social responsibility. We expect the same of our leaders. And as long as you are President of the United States of America, we expect nothing less of you.

Sincerely,

3,700+ Signatories and growing. For current signatories, click here.

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University and college faculty, instructors, fellows, and research associates anywhere in the United States can sign this open letter.

Click here to add your signature.

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Featured image: Photo by UNICEF/El Baba, Children at a shelter for the displaced, Gaza.

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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The US establishment is finally starting to come around to the fact, that Americans don’t want to die for the whole world.

This is demonstrated by an article today (15 February 2024) in the New York Times – the mouthpiece of the liberal Neocon war state.

Mr. Trump and his advisers reject the label isolationist in favor of nationalist, saying that given the changes around the world since the fall of Communism, it is time to rethink American priorities for a new era. NATO and other alliances, they say, no longer represent U.S. interests.

“The old idea of NATO’s collective defense needs to be reassessed,” Russell Vought, a former budget director for Mr. Trump who now serves as president of the Center for Renewing America, told The Financial Times. “We have a narrower view of our interests than Estonia would like us to have.” 

Not for Europe.

But Europe and NATO are just the first point of contention, where Americans say “No – we won’t die for you”.

The fact that Americans don’t want to die for the rest of the world applies everywhere:

Not die for Israel.

Not die for Ukraine – not for Lithuania, not for Finland.

Not die for Taiwan.

Tellingly, the left of US politics has silently backed Obama and Biden in their foreign war projects – the left has kept silent and even backed US support for Nazi-Ukraine.

The revolt against dying for the world comes from the populist center and right of US politics. Trump is the harbinger and focus point of US resistance against starting, participating, paying for, and dying in endless foreign wars. Trump is not the creator of US nationalism and hate against foreign intervention. Trump is also not the creator of US popular tiredness with NATO. From left to center and right, Americans are fed up with foreign wars, with Americans paying billions and dying for nothing.

Don’t make the mistake of putting all this on Trump.

Resistance to foreign wars is now a broad popular issue across US politics.

What a gift to the world!

Europeans must learn themselves to live with Russia. Jews in Israel must learn to live with Palestinians and the region they live in. Taiwanese must learn to find a solution with Beijing.

It’s called responsibility and freedom.

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Karsten Riise is a Master of Science (Econ) from Copenhagen Business School and has a university degree in Spanish Culture and Languages from Copenhagen University. He is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Mercedes-Benz in Denmark and Sweden.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.  

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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On February 13, the DNC-dominated Senate adopted a $95.3 billion “aid” bill that includes both the Kiev regime and Israel. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives already announced its opposition to the bill, as Speaker Mike Johnson openly said that he does not plan to bring it to the floor.

The GOP is furious at the troubled Biden administration, as the bill gives $60 billion (around 65%) to the Neo-Nazi junta. In the meantime, the situation at the southern border is deteriorating by the day, putting additional pressure on Texas, which is now backed by over half of American states. The Republicans are insisting that the border crisis should take priority, while the Democrats are far more focused on effectively causing WW3 due to their deranged foreign policy framework.

Even when the GOP showed some readiness to find common ground in combining the “aid” bill with their proposition to secure the border, the DNC kept insisting on the “aid” taking priority. This made it impossible to come to an agreement, so the US Congress is now effectively paralyzed as its two chambers are at each other’s throats. House Speaker Johnson and former president Donald Trump criticized the bill, insisting that the United States should “stop providing foreign aid unless it is in the form of a loan”. It should be noted that the Senate’s decision was partially bipartisan, as 22 of the 70 votes in favor were Republicans, including their Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, while 29 votes were against the bill. However, this is of little comfort for the Democrats, as the House opposes it.

President Joe Biden is further antagonizing the GOP by insisting that “a minority of the most extreme voices in the House should not be permitted to block the bill”. Thanks to the current (“current” being the last half a decade, at least) state of Biden’s mental health, somebody should probably tell him that it’s neither a minority nor is it extreme, so it will be extremely difficult “not to permit them” anything. The GOP’s countless shortcomings notwithstanding, it’s a fact that they’ve shown at least some level of realpolitik in regard to the border crisis, as well as several other key issues that the United States is facing on a federal level. Biden tried baiting the House with a claim that “Russia would jeopardize other US allies” in case the Kiev regime is defeated. However, that had very little effect.

For its part, the Kiev regime seems happy. Its frontman Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Senate and “every US Senator who has supported continued assistance to Ukraine as we fight for freedom, democracy and the values we all hold dear“. Now that you’ve finished laughing, it should be noted that the Neo-Nazi junta certainly has reasons to be content with this, for the time being, at least. Zelensky also said that the bill “means that life will continue in our cities and will triumph over war”, which is essentially an admission that the US will continue financing the state apparatus of the Kiev regime while its own is effectively falling apart due to over half of American states and most federal institutions being on the opposing sides. It’s virtually a given that millions of Americans are flabbergasted by this.

And indeed, who could possibly blame them? They’re furious that other countries take priority when it comes to the distribution of their own tax money. However, Zelensky insists that this will “help” Americans. He said that the bill

“brings just peace in Ukraine closer and restores global stability, resulting in increased security and prosperity for all Americans and all the free world”.

It would be very interesting to see Zelensky explain how exactly giving dozens of billions to one of the world’s most corrupt regimes “helps” Americans, much less the world. Quite the contrary, many would argue that continued support for the Neo-Nazi junta is bringing us much closer to a global conflict between the most heavily armed powers in human history, without even taking into the continued general instability.

While the DNC will have a very difficult task pushing the bill’s adoption by the House, if they succeed, the so-called “Ukraine aid” would effectively be codified and even made into an impeachable offense. This is extremely important for the neoliberal and neocon warmongers in Washington DC as it would force any future president to comply with the bill. This can be seen as a way of using the system to ensure that Democrats’ decisions are not legally overturned by any future potentially non-DNC administration. Thus, no wonder that Trump is so opposed to the bill. His skepticism toward America’s current global security architecture extends even to NATO itself, let alone the Kiev regime. Namely, Trump thinks that the belligerent alliance is relying too much on the US military.

Thus, he’s demanding all member states to “pay up”, a clear reference to the fact that most of their military spending amounts to less than 2% of their GDP. In other words, Trump wants NATO countries to allocate more money to finance their armed forces. It can only be expected that he’ll be extremely opposed to giving dozens of billions to a foreign regime, much less one that Trump himself sees as firmly “pro-Swamp”. In addition, Johnson effectively stated that the bill would not pass the House, meaning that its chances are very slim to none. What’s more, they are further antagonizing the Democrat-run Senate and the Biden administration by pushing against other federal institutions that they see as hostile. Namely, on February 14, the House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

According to Zero Hedge, more than 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the US under his tenure, effectively doubling the migrant population. With a vote of 214-213, Mayorkas is the first cabinet official to be impeached in approximately 150 years. Mayorkas was accused of demonstrating a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breaching the public trust”. Formed in the post-9/11 era, the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is one of the most powerful federal institutions, enjoying possibly the highest level of freedom to act and even supersede many other federal agencies. Mayorkas himself has repeatedly stated he will not step down even if impeached. He reiterated his willingness to ignore the impeachment just last week when the previous vote took place.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from InfoBrics

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Amnesty International on Tuesday renewed its call for the U.S. government to drop charges against jailed WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, whose final hearing before the United Kingdom’s High Court regarding his extradition to the United States is fast approaching.

Assange’s February 20-21 hearing before the High Court will determine whether the Australian journalist—who has been imprisoned in London’s Belmarsh Prison since April 2019—has exhausted all of his U.K. appeals and will be extradited to the United States, where he has been charged with violating the 1917 Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for publishing classified U.S. military documents and files on WikiLeaks over a decade ago.

“The risk to publishers and investigative journalists around the world hangs in the balance. Should Julian Assange be sent to the U.S. and prosecuted there, global media freedoms will be on trial, too,” said Julia Hall, Amnesty International’s expert on counterterrorism and criminal justice in Europe.

“Assange will suffer personally from these politically motivated charges and the worldwide media community will be on notice that they too are not safe,” Hall added. “The public’s right to information about what their governments are doing in their name will be profoundly undermined. The U.S. must drop the charges under the Espionage Act against Assange and bring an end to his arbitrary detention in the U.K.”

Among the materials published by WikiLeaks are the Afghanistan and Iraq war logs, which revealed U.S. and coalition war crimes, many of them leaked by American whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Perhaps the most infamous of the leaks is the so-called “Collateral Murder” video, which shows U.S. Army attack helicopter crews laughing as they gunned down a group of Iraqi civilians that included journalists and children.

While the soldiers and commanders implicated in the materials published by WikiLeaks have largely enjoyed impunity, Manning served seven years in prison before her sentence was commuted by outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama in 2017. Meanwhile, Assange faces up to 175 years behind bars if found guilty of all charges against him.

According to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Assange has been arbitrarily deprived of his freedom since he was arrested in December 2010. Since then he has been held under house arrest, confined for seven years in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London while he was protected by the administration of former Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, and jailed in Belmarsh.

In 2019, Nils Melzer, then the U.N. special rapporteur on torture, said Assange was showing “all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture.”

In a development related to Assange’s case, a federal judge earlier this month sentenced Joshua Schulte of New York to 40 years in prison in part for giving WikiLeaks “Vault 7,” a series of documents detailing the CIA’s surveillance and cyberwarfare activities and capabilities.

On Monday, the CIA—which during the Trump administration mulled assassinating Assange—invoked its state secrets privilege in a bid to block a lawsuit by the publisher’s attorneys. The suit alleges that CIA operatives “blatantly violated” the rights of lawyers and journalists visiting Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London by conducting unconstitutional searches and seizures of their electronic devices.

Acclaimed U.S. film director Oliver Stone released a video over the weekend to draw attention to protests on “Day X”—what Assange supporters are calling his upcoming hearing—and Assange’s continued “illegal detention.”

“The world needs to be reminded, and so does Julian,” said Stone. “He’s one of us. He’s more than that, he is the collective us. If he goes down a part of each one of us goes down.”

In New York City, activist and political satirist Randy Credico, host of “Julian Assange: Countdown to Freedom”on WBAI radio and the Progressive Radio Network, will be co-piloting billboard trucks with “Free Assange” messages until the London hearing, according to CounterPunch.

Meanwhile in France, Russian artist Andrei Molodkin is attracting global attention for threatening to destroy a collection of works by artists including Picasso, Rembrandt, and Andy Warhol that he has amassed if Assange—who suffers from a host of health issues—dies in prison.

[From Common Dreams: Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.]

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Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

Featured image: Julian Assange at the Stop the War Coalition rally at Trafalgar Square, London, Oct. 8, 2011. (Haydn, Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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The 12 February 2024 massacre and mass murder, wanton and purposeful shelling by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of some 1.5 million Palestinians in or around the city of Rafah, south of Gaza – gateway to Egypt — was hardly reported by the mainstream media. In fact, what was first shock-reported, was hastily censored away – so that most of the world could not learn about this final Holocaust-stroke against Palestine in Gaza. 

The genocidal bombardment of southern Gaza of 12 February is comparable to the 1948 Nakba (“nakba” means catastrophe and refers to the violent displacement and dispossession of Palestinians, along with the destruction of their society, culture, identity, political rights).  

In a few minutes, it left at least 200 people, mostly children, women, and elderly dead, dismembered, pieces of flesh hanging from the ruins of earlier destroyed homes, schools, and hospitals.

In what appears to be a final act of ethnic cleansing, the Netanyahu Government through the atrocious Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has announced and is proceeding with the total elimination of the Palestinian people from Gaza.

Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has warned that Israel intends to open the border floodgates of Rafah in Southern Gaza to force-evacuate more than 1.4 million Gaza inhabitants, currently assembled and barely existing in unheard-of-conditions of misery and makeshift tent-cities, into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Indeed, tent-cities have already been built in Sinai. Most likely under a clandestine agreement between al-Sisi and Netanyahu.

Netanyahu for the Israeli side confirmed this intention of mass-evacuation. 

As a precursor to this “final step” of ethnic cleansing, and according to an Al-Mayadeen correspondent in Rafah, Gaza, the Zionist occupation used US-funded and internationally banned incendiary missiles in its raids on the city of Rafah that resulted in the massacre of over 200 Palestinians, including mostly women and children.

“Search and rescue teams are still in the process of pulling martyrs’ bodies from under the rubble,” so says Al-Mayadeen.

Hamas states:

“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful – The attack by the Nazi occupation army on the city of Rafah tonight (12 February), and its horrific massacres against unarmed civilians, including displaced children, women, and the elderly, which has so far resulted in more than 100 martyrs [latest reports, at least 200], is a continuation of the genocide and forced displacement attempts waged against our Palestinian people.

“The attack by the terrorist enemy army on the city of Rafah is a compounded crime, a deepening of genocide, and an expansion of the massacres committed against our people, given the tragic conditions experienced by this city due to the crowding of approximately 1.4 million citizens in it, and its streets turning into camps for the displaced, living in extremely difficult and harsh conditions due to the lack of the most basic necessities of life.

“The terrorist Netanyahu government and its Nazi army blatantly disregard the decisions of the International Court of Justice issued two weeks ago, which prescribed urgent measures including stopping any steps that could be considered acts of genocide.

The American Administration and President Biden personally bear full responsibility along with the occupation government for this massacre, due to the green light they gave to Netanyahu yesterday [Sunday, 11 February], and the open support they provide him with money, weapons, and political cover to continue the war of genocide and massacres.

“We call on the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations Security Council, to take immediate and serious action to stop the Zionist aggression and the ongoing genocide crimes against unarmed civilians in the Gaza Strip.” (Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, Monday 12 February 2024)

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The Silence of Complicity

Time and again, one may just wonder what strange and diabolical forces have beset Mother Earth? They seem to have grown not just much stronger over the past 4 years, but also become so abhorrent, without any values, no ethics, and no laws – just the rules-based orders, ideal for tyrants, made by the Dark Death Cult pretending to run the world – that it seems all those who in recent “ancient times” would have stood up to defend Human Rights, seem to conform in silent complicity.

One wonders, are today’s western “leaders” (sic-sic) still human? Not only do they all tolerate Israel’s democide of an entire nation, they encourage it, in the name of Israel’s right to self-defense. 

Following a blatant lie by Israel, namely that 12 or 13 UNRWA workers were discovered fighting for Hamas, the US and EU, as well as almost all EU members have stopped funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). 

There is absolutely no evidence of any UNRWA collaboration with Hamas. Yet the words of Netanyahu’s count, even though evidence abound that they are most often full of lies to achieve a diabolical purpose.

UNRWA was the only agency that supplied Gaza with some food and water – little it was, when Israel would the UNRWA trucks cross the Rafah border from Egypt to Gaza, but better than nothing.

Now, that is gone too. 

The obedient WEF-implanted heads of state of most EU countries follow Israel / US orders to stop funding UNRWA. That also includes the non-EU but spineless Swiss government – a so-called neutral country. A joke.

Are these people, still worthy of being called humans rather than savages? Is this the way of the future? Is WEF’s Klaus Schwab, who implants these puppets as he proudly says “into governments around the world”, still human? These are legitimate questions.  

Does their complicity make them proxy murderers?

See also Chris Hedges, “Let them Eat Dirt!”.

A dehumanization of humanity, a robotization of humanity, may be well in process. Digitization of the brain – no feelings, no sentiments – pure brute execution of orders. See this, this and this.

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For those who still do not believe that we are witnessing the beginning of a long war towards a “Greater Israel”, think again. 

On the very 7 October 2023, the day of the long-ahead planned attack by Israel with US complicity, executed by Hamas, Netanyahu said in about these words, “This is going to be a long war”.

Why would it be a long war, if not for a long-planned and Big Purpose – Zionist-founded Greater Israel for the Chosen People, taking up as much as 50% to 70% of what is currently called the Middle East?

This is the mere expansion of an already symbiotic relationship between the West mostly the US, and Zionist Israel.

The West is funding and arming Israel – to make their dream of a Holy Place for the Chosen People come through. In turn, Israel, under the aegis of Greater Israel and its sponsors, would become possibly the world’s second or third largest supplier of hydrocarbon, including the one trillion-plus cubic feet of gas off-shore of Gaza, belonging to Palestine – to be absorbed and stolen by Israel. 

The remaining Western population – after the WEF-led depopulation drive – would be energy-wise free from Moslem — and other designated enemies. 

That too is a dream. But it will not come true. Linear planning does not work. Dynamics and higher dimensions of spiritual awareness are bound to interfere. 

We are currently living in a tug of war between the forces of Darkness and Light. In the Age of Aquarius, the name of the new epoch, Light will overcome darkness. 

But when?

Time as we know it, is man-made. Outside of life, time does not exist, at least not as our human concept. Time and space merge as in quantum science. 

For those who live and must live in a time-bound world, time is of the essence – like for Palestine. 

Let us do whatever we can to bring about a massive spiritual awakening – so that the Age of Aquarius is helped and supported by the human spirit – and an epoch of Harmony and Peace may evolve.

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Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for online journals and is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020). 

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.  

Featured image: Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in Rafah, the last refuge in southern Gaza. Photo credit: MENAFN 

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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My first encounter with Israel’s role in genocide happened while caring for patients, not in Palestine but in California.

Compared to traumatization of ordinary people in Israel or deaths and injuries in Gaza now, that experience may seem small. But as possible Israeli genocide causes concerns worldwide, including South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, Israel’s actions outside Palestine, often as an enforcer of U.S. policies, deserve more attention than they have received so far.

My experience happened while doing medical work with refugees. During the 1980s and 1990s, I directed a University of California internal medicine residency program. We faced an epidemic of dramatic physical symptoms among patients arriving from the wars in Central America. Symptoms included severe chest pain, abdominal pain, pelvic pain, and neurological problems such as dizziness, loss of consciousness, weakness, headaches, and visual and hearing problems. Although some of the patients came from El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, most were Mayan refugees who journeyed from the highlands of Guatemala, through Mexico, to California.

Extensive evaluations revealed that these symptoms did not develop from physical causes. Instead, the bodily distress came from horrifying traumas, including torture, rape, watching the murders of parents and children, and being forced to dig graves for friends, family, and themselves before they escaped.

In vivid detail, they described Israel’s role in Guatemala’s genocide. They mentioned Uzi submachine guns and Galil rifles made in Israel and described how Guatemalan and Israeli military personnel used the arms during massacres. Despite our efforts, we knew that most patients never would outgrow such memories. Human rights organizations named the atrocities of the Guatemalan government, but not the U.S. or Israeli governments’ supporting roles, as genocide.

As a doctor, I experienced work with these patients as very rewarding and very stressful, although obviously less stressful than the traumas that the patients themselves reported. I confess that I developed symptoms of “secondary” post-traumatic stress disorder–nightmares, flashbacks, cold sweats, and more–linked to the patients’ witnessing genocide and Israel’s role in it. Several medical colleagues also developed secondary PTSD. Over time, my PTSD reactivates whenever Israel gets involved in aggressive military action, both within and outside Palestine, for instance during the current war.

Later, our work in global public health revealed impacts of Israel in multiple Latin American countries. Israel acted as a surrogate for the United States, especially when direct U.S. military intervention was politically not feasible.

For instance, Israeli personnel helped coordinate U.S.-backed interventions against Nicaragua, which colleagues and I witnessed through our medical work there. During the so-called Iran-Contra affair, Israel sold U.S. weapons to Iran, generating funds for the counter-revolutionary (“contra”) forces in Nicaragua. Israel also sent weapons confiscated from the Palestinian Liberation Organization directly to the contras based in Honduras.

Arriving for a health conference that we helped organize in Nicaragua, colleagues and I barely escaped the bombing of the international airport by contra forces receiving Israeli equipment and assistance. We also survived our medical work during contra attacks supported by Israel near the border with Honduras, while others were injured or killed.

Israel assisted U.S.-backed dictatorships in El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay (with a plan to relocate Palestinians there), Bolivia, and Haiti. In our work to help health workers and other people imprisoned and tortured in these countries over time, Israeli arms and counter-insurgency personnel kept reappearing.

In Africa, Israel has played similar roles. Israel aided the apartheid government in South Africa and its military in Angola. Israel’s support strengthened the military regime after Patrice Lumumba’s assassination in the Congo. Israeli arms facilitated genocide in Rwanda. According to our African medical colleagues, this history informs South Africa’s current legal case that focuses on the question of Israeli genocide in Palestine.

The Israeli military-industrial complex also supports the militarization of the Mexico-U.S. border. An Israeli corporation, Elbit Systems, is an important contractor in constructing surveillance towers and other security infrastructure, for instance on the Tohono O’odham Nation’s reservation, which straddles the border. The startling similarities between Gaza and the Mexico-U.S. border, sometimes called “Gaza in Arizona,” draw concern partly due to the dangerous health effects of U.S. immigration policies.

After George Floyd’s death, investigative journalists reported that the dangerous “knee to the neck” restraint technique was the same as used by Israeli police and military forces in Palestine. Israeli companies and government agencies sold or donated educational programs on these methods to U.S. police, in Minneapolis and elsewhere. As a physician, I spent many intense hours trying to care for victims of police brutality but didn’t understand the knee to the neck technique. Israel’s role in the worldwide public health crisis of police brutality receives less attention than it should.

Some simple facts illustrate Israeli and U.S. economic interests in militarism. U.S. annual arms sales in 2022 totaled $100 to $200 billion, the most by far of any nation. Using the low estimate, with a population of 336 million, that equals about $300 per person. For Israel, population nearly 9.7 million, arms sales in 2022 amounted to $12.5 billion, or about $1,300 per person. Israel remains the largest recipient of U.S. foreign financial aid, most of which goes for Israel’s military uses and returns to the United States for arms purchases.

Links among the arms trade, militarism, and Zionism deepened after Britains Balfour declaration during World War I, when Jewish and non-Jewish financiers provided their capital to collaborate in Britains attempts to wrest Palestine from the Ottoman Empire. While treating our traumatized patients from Guatemala, I learned that the arms trade developed long before the Holocaust. Israeli collaborations involved Guatemalan, Nicaraguan, and Cuban dictatorships, the so-called Jewish mafia in Miami, and Zionist paramilitary forces in Palestine, such as Haganah and Irgun, whose stated purposes morphed between self-defense and capital accumulation. The Uzi submachine gun that terrified our patients proved quite profitable through sales to dictatorial regimes in Latin America and Africa.

Israelis whose actions are dangerous to health deserve compassion. Cognitive dissonance and moral injury can become unhealthy for those who act in these ways. As health workers, we have seen these patterns often, for instance in the heroic actions of Israeli colleagues rescuing leftist Jews threatened by the same dictatorships that Israel was assisting in Chile and Argentina.

Over time, I’ve felt that a search for understanding the Israel/Palestine problem, especially as it relates to public health, resembles the search depicted in Joseph Conrad’s short racist novel, Heart of Darkness, or in its movie sequel, Apocalypse Now. A protagonist, let’s say me, sails slowly up a river deep in the jungle, trying to find an evil anti-hero, and eventually realizes that he has found himself.

Israel’s unhealthy behaviors, such as killing children, are only possible because of us U.S. taxpayers. Over $10 million per day of U.S. military aid generated by taxes goes to Israel. Investments in Israel by institutions like universities and unions actually are much smaller than the support we provide through our taxes.

So reaching the heart of darkness convinced me and my family to take some drastic but pretty safe actions. First, with more than 20 thousand others (that number has increased markedly during the invasion of Gaza), we refuse to pay the half of our income taxes that support militarism, including Israel’s. We also redirect our modest savings and retirement accounts away from organizations that invest in militarism generally and Israel in particular. Such resistance is safe, legal, and–if done by large enough numbers–transformative.

We who are responsible for such tragedies can help achieve a more just and healthy planet if we choose to stop our consent to paying for militarism and genocide.

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Howard Waitzkin is a distinguished professor emeritus of health sciences and sociology at the University of New Mexico and professor emeritus of internal medicine and social sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He practices internal medicine and primary care part-time in rural areas.

Featured image: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a message on Israel’s war with Hamas, January 10, 2024. (Video screenshot)

Water – The Abundant Scarcity

February 15th, 2024 by Peter Koenig

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“Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink….”

These are the lines from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The speaker, a sailor on a stranded ship, is surrounded by salt water that he cannot drink.

Water is like Peace – it is all around us, but we do not grasp it. We let it go to waste. We let it be polluted, privatized, made scarce so that it becomes a market product. Yet water is a public good. It belongs to everyone. It has been given to us by our generous Mother Earth. Water cannot be scarce, as the total amount of water within the realm of planet earth is always the same – it remains constant. 

The chances for Peace are similar. They are in public domain. They are a moral good. Peace is free, no cost. Everybody can grasp it – and work on Peace. Dedicate himself to Peace. Fight for Peace. Pray for Peace. Meditate for Peace. Unlike water – peace cannot be privatized.

We must keep it that way, and make again Water like Peace – a public good, not to be privatized EVER!

On 28 July 2010, The United Nations General Assembly, through Resolution 64/292, explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all human rights.

Water’s availability may vary from location to location. But water’s huge quantity remains unchanged throughout the billions of years of our blue Planet’s life. 

Water is Life. Peace is Life. Water and Peace are interdependent. 

Understanding this connection is understanding why water is an abundant scarcity.

However, nothing can be taken for granted, even if it is believed to be secured by a UN Resolution. We, the People, must defend this right, we must nurture it so it becomes from a seed a right engrained into our collective consciousness.

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Water in the Israel-Palestine Conflict

The Oslo Accords of 1993, sponsored by Norway, were to be a guiding path for Peace in the Middle East; for Peace between Israel and Palestine. They were designed to be the first step towards a two-state solution.

One of the major features of the Oslo Agreements was that even during the precursor of the two-state solution, each country, Palestine, and Israel had full and autonomous rights to their natural resources, which included water, a scarce commodity in the Middle East in general, and especially in the Palestine-Israel region.

However, the Oslo Accords went nowhere, since Israel never agreed to them. A major reason was that under the Accords Palestine was to be given sovereignty over their land and resources, including water.

Close to 80% of all the water in Palestine, now including Israel, is on Palestine territory, over or below grounds of the West Bank. Israel would never admit it, but they know it. Israeli settlements illegally imposed on the West Bank are not by coincidence almost always on or near a perennial Palestinian water source.

Palestine knows it but they have no voice in the West.

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To adopt this universal UN-declared Human Right by each and every country remains a challenge. Though, like Peace, the concept of Water for All, is still a seed. It MUST be adopted by people’s consciousness, and be endlessly nurtured and defended, so, the seed may grow. 

Do not forget, no right, not even a Human Right in our day and age, is just God-given. We must work for it, as if it were a seed; water it gently, let it sprout, but watch over it, until it becomes big and independent. The right to water for everyone on this planet is an element of societal consciousness.

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Water, Water Everywhere – as an Abundant Scarcity is not a myth. Fresh water is just not equally distributed across the globe. But it can be made accessible to people everywhere.

 In abundance available, but made scare by excessive pollution, excessive use in one place, so that it may create shortages in another place. 

The corporate sharks, who speak with a split tongue, pretend to protect water from pollution, but they do just the contrary. 

 If they succeed pretending that water is disappearing, because it has become so polluted, that every drop of fresh water is becoming ever rarer — for them it is a justification to privatize water for profit, corporate profit, that is, not for the benefit of the people.

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Where Is the Available Fresh Water?

By far the largest quantity of fresh water is available in South America. 

The map shows a multitude of rivers flowing through the Amazon, carrying trillions of cubic meters of fresh water, largely unused for human consumption, into the Atlantic. Most of them are in Brazil.

About 90% of South America’s waterways are draining into the Atlantic. This leaves a relatively thin strip of heavily populated western South America in a state of desert, or semi-desert (see map below).

Brazil, with about 8,200 km3 annually renewable freshwater, ranks number one with about one eighth (1/8) of the world’s total renewable freshwater resources which are estimated at 45,000 km3. The Amazon Basin holds about 73% of all of Brazil’s freshwater. Renewable freshwater is the composite of annually sustainable surface and groundwater recharge combined (recharge by precipitation and inflow from outside).

The second most water-abundant country is Russia with 4,500 km3 / year, followed by Canada, Indonesia, China, Colombia, US, Peru, India – all with renewable water resources of between 2,000 km3 and 3,000 km3 / year.

By continent, the Americas have the largest share of the world’s total freshwater resources with 45 percent, followed by Asia with 28 percent, Europe with 15.5 percent and Africa with 9 percent. 

This scenario immediately points to Africa’s vulnerability. Africa is clearly the most vulnerable continent from a water resources – survival – point of view. Africa has about 60% of the world’s remaining and known available natural resources; resources the west covets and goes to war for.

South America is home of one of the world’s largest single underground renewable freshwater reservoirs, the Guarani Aquifer which underlays 1.2 million square kilometers (km2), equivalent to about the size of Texas and California combined. Of the Guarani, 71% is under Brazil, 19% under Argentina, 6% under Paraguay, and 4% under Uruguay. Another huge underground water reservoir is underlaying North Africa – see below.

The Guaraní aquifer was discovered in the 1990s. It is named after the indigenous people who have inhabited the area for centuries. The Guarani holds an estimated 46,000 km3 of freshwater (not to confound with the annual renewable freshwater, of which Brazil has about 8,300 km3 – see above). 

It is said that the Guaraní could supply the current world population for the next 200 years with 100 liters per capita per day.

The present Guarani’s extraction rate is a little over 1 km3 per year, while the potential recharge rate is between 45 km3 and 55 km3/year, meaning that there is so far no risk of over-abstraction. This could however, change quickly.

The real risk for the plentiful Guarani underground “lake” is privatization. 

About 35 million people inhabit the Guarani region. In the Brazilian section of the Guaraní, some 500 to 600 cities are currently supplied with Guaraní water – how many of these municipal supplies are already privatized?

In North Africa, the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) covers a surface area of around 2.2 million km2 extending over four North African countries (Sudan, Chad, Egypt, and Libya). It is together with the Guarani aquifer, one of the largest known reserves of groundwater in the world. It dates from the Quaternary period, some 2.5 million years back.

The NSAS stores an estimated 370,000 km3 of fresh water. However, only 10% to 20% are renewable and relatively easily accessible. The rest is what is called fossil or non-renewable water.

As fresh water reserves are made believe to diminish, corporate privatization is quietly pushing ahead. Privatization of parts of the Guarani aquifer is a real risk.

Transnational corporations, such as Nestlé, Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Dow Chemicals, and other transnationals with strong water interests, like Veolia, Suez (French), Thames (UK), Bechtel (US), Petrobras and a myriad of others, join with the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), different UN bodies, as well as many bilateral aid organizations and neoliberal NGOs. They are pushing ahead with privatizing fresh water resources, under the pretext of protecting drinking water sources for humanity. 

Nothing could be farther from the truth. While the UN narrative of providing access to every world inhabitant to fresh water is ongoing and strong, for the last several decades the number of people without drinking water has barely changed. Today, there are still more than 2 billion people without clean water, making them, especially children, highly vulnerable to water-borne diseases. 

It is high time that people are waking up, creating, for example, public trusts to preserve water as a public good for the benefit of humanity. It is one method for the common people to raising the seed “water” and let it grow into the collective consciousness of society.

Here, Water joins Peace – as a MUST Human Project. We, the People, must conserve water, protect it from pollution and keep it in the public domain – to maintain water as a Human Right, thereby enhancing the United Nations Resolution of 2010 and transforming it into reality.

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Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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It must be clear that there is no room in the country for both peoples…. If the Arabs leave it, the country will become wide and spacious for us…. The only solution is a Land of Israel…without Arabs. There is no room here for compromises… (Yosef Weitz (1890-1972) former director of the Jewish National Fund’s Land Settlement Department)

The IDF’s recent airstrikes on civilian areas in Rafah mark the beginning of the final phase of Israel’s massive ethnic cleansing project. On Monday, Israel bombed a number of locations where Palestinian refugees were huddled in tents after fleeing Israel’s onslaught in the North. Videos of the destruction appeared on a number of Twitter-sites which showed a deeply-cratered wasteland in the middle of makeshift encampments. Not surprisingly, women and children made up the bulk of the casualties with no evidence of Hamas to be found anywhere. According to a witness at the site, body parts and carnage were strewn across the landscape. This is from an article at the World Socialist Web Site:

Israel launched a massive aerial bombardment of Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, on Sunday night into Monday morning, killing over 100 people. As the sun came up, the world was horrified by images of the mangled bodies of children, in a chilling demonstration of what is to come in the weeks ahead.

Over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to carry out a full-scale military onslaught against the besieged city, declaring, “Our goal … is total victory.” For the Israeli regime, “total victory” means killing as many Palestinians as possible and driving the rest from their homes. With a green light from Biden, Israel commencing Rafah massacre, World Socialist Web Site

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Image: Theodor Hezl (From the Public Domain)

Israeli spokesmen and members of the western media provided the perfunctory justification for Monday’s attacks by reiterating the fiction that Israel is trying to eradicate Hamas. What is obscured by this obvious deception is the fact that the basic plan for expelling the Arab population from their native land dates back to the origins of the Jewish state. Indeed, the founder of the modern Zionist movement, Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), wrote the following:

“We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it any employment in our own country… expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.”

Shockingly, Herzl wrote those words in 1895, 50 years before Israel declared its statehood. So, the problem was fully understood even back then. In order to establish a Jewish homeland, Jews would have to maintain a sizable majority, which means Palestinians would have to be evicted. That is the niggling issue that has bedeviled Israeli leaders from 1948-on; how to ‘disappear’ the native population. Here’s a blurb from Israel’s first prime minister David Ben-Gurion who said:

“You are no doubt aware of the [Jewish National Fund’s] activity in this respect. Now a transfer of a completely different scope will have to be carried out. In many parts of the country new settlement will not be possible without transferring the Arab fellahin.” He concluded: “Jewish power [in Palestine], which grows steadily, will also increase our possibilities to carry out this transfer on a large scale.” (1948)

This same line of reasoning has persisted through the decades although today’s Zionists tend to express themselves more brashly and with less restraint. Take, for example, popular conservative pundit Ben Shapiro who presented his views in an article titled “Transfer is Not a Dirty Word”. Here’s what he said:

If you believe that the Jewish state has a right to exist, then you must allow Israel to transfer the Palestinians and the Israeli-Arabs from Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Israel proper. It’s an ugly solution, but it is the only solution. And it is far less ugly than the prospect of bloody conflict ad infinitum….

The Jews don’t realize that expelling a hostile population is a commonly used and generally effective way of preventing violent entanglements. There are no gas chambers here. It’s not genocide; it’s transfer….

It’s time to stop being squeamish. Jews are not Nazis. Transfer is not genocide. And anything else isn’t a solution. Transfer is Not a Dirty Word, Narkive

“Squeamish”? Shapiro thinks that anyone who recognizes the appalling moral horror of driving people off their land and forcing them into refugee camps is squeamish?

This is the essence of political Zionism and it dates back to the very beginning of the Jewish state. So, when critics claim that Netanyahu has assembled the “most right-wing government in Israel’s history”, don’t believe them. Netanyahu is no better or worse than his predecessors. The only Prime Minister who veered even slightly from this ‘iron law’ of Zionism, was Yitzhak Rabin who was (predictably) assassinated by an opponent of Oslo. What does that tell you?

It tells you there was never going to be a “two-state” solution; it was a charade from the get-go. And (as Netanyahu intimated recently) Israeli leaders merely played along with the hoax in order to buy-time to prepare for the solution that is being imposed today.

Have you ever wondered why so many Israelis support Netanyahu’s murderous rampage in Gaza?

(Hint) It’s not because Israeli Jews are homicidal maniacs. No. It’s because they know what he is doing. They’re not taken-in by the “Hamas” diversion, that is merely propaganda pablum for the West. They know that Netanyahu is implementing a plan to seize all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. And, in doing so, he is achieving the territorial ambitions of his Zionist ancestors. So, even though the majority of Israelis despise Netanyahu and think he should be prosecuted for corruption, they are willing to look the other way while he does their bidding.

What onlookers need to realize is that the current strategy is not new at all, in fact, it has a 75 year-long pedigree that aligns with the demographic objectives of the Zionist leadership.

None of this of course has anything to do with Hamas which is merely the pretext for the eradication of the indigenous people. What we are seeing is the actualization of the Zionist dream, the modern version of Plan Dalet, the original roadmap for ethnic cleaning that was drawn up in 1948.

So, what is Plan Dalet?

Plan Dalet was the blueprint used by the ..Israeli army… to expel Palestinians from their homeland during Israel’s establishment in 1948. As…Israeli historian Benny Morris noted in his landmark book on the events of 1948, Plan Dalet was “a strategic-ideological anchor and basis for expulsions by front, district, brigade and battalion commanders”… Today, this act of mass expulsion would be called ethnic cleansing.

Officially adopted on March 10, 1948, Plan Dalet specified which Palestinian cities and towns would be targeted and gave instructions for how to drive out their inhabitants and destroy their communities. It called for:

“Destruction of villages… especially those population centers which are difficult to control continuously… the population must be expelled outside the borders of the state.”

Three quarters of all Palestinians, about 750,000 people, were forced from their homes and made refugees during Israel’s establishment. Their homes, land, and other belongings were systematically destroyed or taken over by Israelis, while they were denied the right to return or any sort of compensation. More than 400 Palestinian towns and villages, including vibrant urban centers, were destroyed or repopulated with Jewish Israelis.” Plan Dalet & The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, IMEU

So, what have we seen over the last four months?

We’ve seen the terrorizing of an entire population that has experienced relentless bombing, destruction of vital infrastructure, a full blockade of food, water and medical supplies, and a mass exodus to the southernmost city in Gaza at gunpoint.

Is This Not Plan Dalet?

It is. It’s a modern version of the original plan. That is why the IDF is bombing tent cities full of unarmed civilians who pose no threat to Israeli security. It’s not to fight Hamas but to terrorize the population into fleeing the city. That’s the goal. Israel knows that if they bomb the refugees, they will storm the border, breach the wall, and stream into Egypt en masse. That’s the plan in a nutshell.

And the plan appears to be succeeding. In fact, Netanyahu might be just days-away from finishing the work that was begun by Ben-Gurion. He has already started to increase the airstrikes on Rafah while a full-blown ground assault could be launched at any time. As the humanitarian crisis intensifies, the desperation and fear will grow eventually triggering a massive stampede for the Egyptian border. Once the Palestinians leave Gaza, they will fall under the guardianship of representatives of the international community who will transfer them to nations around the world. This is how Netanyahu intends to seize the land he will incorporate into a Greater Israel, by driving unarmed civilians out of their homes and into the desert.

The expulsion of the Palestinians shows that –behind the moral pontificating about human rights and ‘the rule of law’– the United States and Israel are capable of the most barbarous cruelty imaginable. It is truly shocking that the two nations can execute a filthy plan like this in broad daylight while the rest of the world sits on their hands.

We should all feel ashamed of ourselves.

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This article was originally published on The Unz Review.

Michael Whitney is a renowned geopolitical and social analyst based in Washington State. He initiated his career as an independent citizen-journalist in 2002 with a commitment to honest journalism, social justice and World peace.

He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).  

Featured image: Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. A series of Israeli air strikes on the southern Gaza town of Rafah on February 12, 2024 killed 52 people, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry. The strikes hit 14 houses and three mosques in different parts of Rafah, according to the Hamas government. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Michael Wahid Hanna calls on the U.S. to avert further catastrophe in Gaza:

It is hard to imagine things getting worse, but an assault on Rafah would up the ante. The US is the only power that can stop it. To do so, it will have to exert a degree of pressure it has so far been reluctant to apply.

Hanna is right, and I said something similar in my column this week. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has no intention of doing anything to discourage an Israeli ground assault on Rafah. Politico reported yesterday that multiple administration officials said that “no reprimand plans are in the works, meaning Israeli forces could enter the city and harm civilians without facing American consequences.”

This report is being correctly interpreted as giving Israel a green light to do anything it wants. In case it wasn’t clear enough, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, “Oh, we never said that they can’t go into Rafah to remove Hamas.” When pressed about possible consequences, Kirby refused to discuss “hypotheticals.”

The administration previously said that the operation shouldn’t “proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering there,” but it is obvious that they aren’t going to object when the operation goes ahead anyway. As usual, there is never an “or else” attached to these warnings, and that makes them easy to ignore. Even when the U.S. seems to be putting a limit on its support, it never means anything in practice.

This has been the pattern throughout the war. U.S. officials issue statements that sound like red lines that Israel shouldn’t cross, and then almost immediately the administration clarifies that absolutely nothing will happen if Israel crosses them. The warnings that the U.S. gives are the thinnest smokescreen imaginable for the real policy of full backing for whatever the Israeli government chooses to do.

Having driven more than half of Gaza’s population into this tiny corner of the Strip, the Israeli government is now telling them they should evacuate somewhere else after Israeli forces have laid waste to most of the territory. Consider how cruel and insane this is. The people are being deliberately starved by Israel’s blockade, and at least half a million are already in famine conditions right now. Almost the entire population has been displaced by the war. Every “safe” place they have ben told to go comes under Israeli attack. Now more than a million people are supposed to flee yet again when they have nowhere safe to go and no reason to believe that they won’t be attacked when they try to move.

The World Health Organization warns that an assault on Rafah would cause an “unfathomable catastrophe” and “would even further expand the humanitarian disaster beyond imagination.” The U.N. emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said that it could “lead to a slaughter.” He added that it could “leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door.” Launching an attack on Gaza’s tenuous lifeline to the outside world can only exacerbate the appalling humanitarian disaster that has been underway for months.

There is no realistic scenario in which this assault goes ahead and there isn’t massive loss of innocent life. The U.S. has the leverage to prevent the assault and the catastrophe that will follow, but the administration is signaling to the world that it isn’t going to use it. Failing to prevent this horror is a disgrace that will haunt the United States for decades to come.

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Featured image: Palestinian girl Eman Al-Kholi, whose limb was amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike that killed her parents, looks on as she sits in a wheelchair at the European Hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 28, 2023. REUTERS/Arafat Barbakh

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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The Dutch government is urgently appealing a court decision that would bring global production of the West’s fifth-generation fighter jet to a halt.

A first instance decision on Monday gave the government a week to stop exporting parts for the F-35 stealth fighter-bomber, which Israel is using in its bombardment of the Gaza strip, where its war has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, a majority of them women and children.

The Court of Appeal in The Hague cited “a clear risk that Israel’s F-35 fighter jets might be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

That could, in turn, implicate the Netherlands, which both manufactures and stocks F-35 parts.

Israel insists its war is aimed at destroying Hamas, after the Palestinian armed group attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing nearly 1,200 people. But the mounting toll of civilian casualties; the bombardment of schools, refugee camps and hospitals; and the forced displacement of almost all of Gaza’s population have sparked global outrage. South Africa has hauled Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocidal intent. And the court at The Hague this week appeared to share some of the concerns the ICJ is mulling over.

“Israel does not take sufficient account of the consequences of its attacks for the civilian population,” the Dutch court said. “This means that the export of F-35 parts from the Netherlands to Israel has to be stopped.”

Doing so would have consequences that extend far beyond Israel and the war in Gaza.

The Netherlands hosts one of three warehouses worldwide for F-35 parts, at Woensdrecht. However, the Netherlands argues that Israel cannot be singled out for an embargo, because the Dutch government exports parts to all countries in the F-35 programme under a single licence, labelled AV009.

Click here to read the full article on Al Jazeera.

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Featured image: Dutch soldiers stand guard near a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35 at Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Bulgaria, April 14, 2022. A Dutch court ruling banning the export of F-35 parts to Israel threatens to upend the West’s use of the aircraft [Stoyan Nenov/Reuters]

‘Cancer Causing Aircraft’

February 15th, 2024 by Monica Piccinini

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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The world witnessed with shock the alarming Alaska Airlines plane incident involving Flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9 MAX, where a fuselage door plug blew off mid-flight near Portland, Oregon, USA earlier this year. 

The disturbing event follows closely after the tragic 2018 and 2019 crashes involving two Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets, claiming the lives of 346 individuals due to flawed flight control systems that caused fatal nosedives.

In the aftermath of these incidents, profound concerns about the overall safety of aircraft have surged, demanding urgent attention and scrutiny. Another worrying and often overlooked matter impacting the safety of our flights involves potential contamination of the air circulating within the cabin and cockpit with toxic chemicals.

Pilots

Jet powered aircraft require the use of synthetic engine oils and hydraulic fluids, which can potentially seep into the air supply in modern aircrafts, except for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The air supply, known as “bleed air”, is drawn unfiltered from the engine or auxiliary power unit (APU), contaminating the aircraft’s internal air with toxic substances.

Inhaling oil and fluids that leak into the aircraft breathing air supply can result in both immediate and prolonged neurological, cardiological and respiratory health issues. This set of symptoms, arising from exposure of toxic air, is referred to ‘aerotoxic syndrome’. 

During a June 2022 interview on the Seth Meyers show, actor Miles Teller shared his experience and response after being exposed to toxic fumes in a jet while filming ‘Top Gun’:

“And so we landed. I’m just like, man, I’m not feeling too good, and I was really hot and I just started itching like crazy, so I get out of the jet and I’m just covered in hives, like head to toe. Instantly, I go to a doctor. I do like a blood analysis, this, that, whatever. I go to the doctor and my bloodwork comes back and I have flame retardant pesticides and jet fuel in my blood.”

Since the 1950s, pilots, cabin crew, and passengers have consistently raised concerns about inadequate cabin air quality and potential contamination of aircraft air supplies. This is typically identified by a peculiar but often subtle ‘dirty sock’ odour. In instances of severe contamination, visible smoke may be present. 

Red Alert

These are often called ‘fume events’ in the aviation industry. Fume events are highly concerning, as they have the potential to impair or incapacitate pilots and cabin crew during a flight, thereby jeopardising the lives of both the crew and passengers. 

The air provided to pilots, crew members, and passengers, originates from the engines. Due to the high temperatures during engine operation, any engine oil leakage has the potential to transform into a mist of chemicals that can be inadvertently inhaled by pilots, crew members, and passengers.

Numerous reports from pilots, crew members, passengers, organisations, and scientists suggest that these occurrences are more frequent than commonly acknowledged.

In some cases, pilots have been compelled to resign from their positions entirely because of the adverse health effects arising from these fume events. Many pilots and crew members hesitate to officially document and disclose such occurrences, in fear of losing their jobs.

In 1997, Dr Susan Michaelis, a former pilot and authority in aviation safety, had to retire from her profession at the age of 34 due to illness that made her unfit to fly. Since then, she has dedicated her efforts to researching the field. 

Breast Cancer

Reflecting on her personal experience as a pilot, Dr Michaelis explains:

“I began my aviation career in 1986, and after eight years, in 1994, I secured a position as a regional airline pilot in Australia, operating the BAe 146. Shortly after starting this role, I consistently detected an unpleasant odour resembling that of a dirty sock inside the aircraft.

“This occurrence became a regular experience whenever changes occurred with the engines, APU, air supply, or when different stages of flight were initiated. The fumes were typically temporary but recurred almost every flight. Subsequently, I started experiencing headaches, a sore throat, difficulty in speaking and concentrating, as well as feelings of fatigue and nausea.

“The situation deteriorated progressively, and during a two-day period in mid-1997, the condition seemed a bit more challenging. Unbeknownst to me then, those two days marked my final flight as a pilot. The symptoms I had been experiencing for nearly three years at work reached a point where, at the age of 34, I was no longer able to continue flying. Eventually, my pilot medical certificate was revoked, and I have not flown as a commercial pilot since then.”

Dr Michaelis revealed the long-term health effects and consequences of continuous exposure to fume events:

“I am currently dealing with stage 4 incurable lobular breast cancer, and I attribute it to the consistent exposure to these fumes over the years. 

“The fumes contain chemicals and contaminants recognised as endocrine disruptors that mimic oestrogen. This is particularly significant in the context of oestrogen-driven breast cancers, which is the type I have.

Health

“Despite not flying at high altitudes, across time zones, or working night shifts, I was exposed to bleed air fumes. This exposure not only ended my career but, I fear, will ultimately lead to the end of my life, given the nature of this incurable form of breast cancer.”

Based on Dr Michaelis 2017 study, among 274 surveyed pilots, 63 per cent reported experiencing adverse health effects, with 44 per cent reporting symptoms persisting for days or weeks post-exposure, 32% experiencing symptoms lasting for weeks to months, and 13% facing chronic ill health that resulted in permanent disqualification from flying due to fitness issues.

In 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), issued a safety alert to operators providing guidance that “inflight odour, smoke and/or fume events can occur without other visual and/or olfactory cues. To mitigate health consequences to passengers and crew, prompt and decisive action is critical.” 

Aircraft manufacturers ensure the re-circulation of at least 50% of the air inside the aircraft by installing HEPA filters. These filters are effective in eliminating bacteria and viruses from the recirculated air. However, they are not designed to remove heated engine or hydraulic fluid fumes.

Contaminants in bleed air can involve various harmful chemicals, including organophosphates (OP) like the flame retardant tricresyl phosphate (TCP), a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as aldehydes and solvents, as well as carbon monoxide and other toxic substances.

Neurological Damage

While a variety of chemicals can contaminate the cockpit and cabin air, the primary source of concern has been organophosphate TCP, a neurotoxin found in engine oils, and ultra-fine particles (UFPs), which are composed of fine droplets in the bleed air.

According to a study published in December 2023 at the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, ongoing exposures to organophosphates might lead to neurological damage through other mechanisms, including alterations in gene expression, heightened oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and disruption of the endocrine system. 

Exposure to contaminants in bleed air and adverse effects reported by aircrew include a pattern of acute and long-term adverse health effects. Like any toxic substances, the symptoms experienced are dependent upon the level and duration of exposure. 

Various clinical factors, including diet, smoking and alcohol consumption, age, comorbidities, medication, and genetics, may also play a role in determining individual reactions to fume events.

Initial symptoms initially associated with fume events encompass dizziness, fogginess, impaired short-term memory and cognitive thinking, nausea, tremor, fatigue, lack of coordination, breathing difficulties, balance impairment, cough, chest pain, and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat. 

Symptoms

While some individuals experience short-duration symptoms, for others, it may take hours, days, weeks, months, or even years to recover fully, and in certain cases, a complete recovery may not occur.

Exposure to fume events may be linked to a variety of enduring health conditions, including complaints related to the central and peripheral nervous systems, cough, respiratory issues, lung disease, cognitive dysfunction, toxic encephalopathy, asthma, chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, vocal cord polyps, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, tremors, muscle weakness, numbness in limbs, peripheral neuropathy, loss of temperature control, neurodegenerative diseases (such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s), depression, anxiety, fertility issues, eye disorders, and cancer.

In 2023, 16 international experts released a medical protocol designed for examining aircrew and passengers who have been exposed to contaminated air and fume events. However, according to Dr Michaelis, there’s still lack of interest from the aviation industry in collecting epidemiological data from people exposed to contaminated air in aircraft.

Former airline captain and film producer, Tristan Loraine, highlighted a possible solution to fume events:

“Adjusting the method of supplying air to the cabin is a possibility. Unlike the 787, which use electrical compressors, every other airplane utilises the flawed bleed air approach. 

“Several years ago, Airbus and the German company Liebherr Aerospace collaborated on exploring the possibility of converting an A320 to a bleed-free system, like the 787, employing electrical compressors to draw in outside air. 

Warning Systems

“However, due to the substantial electrical power consumption of the electric compressors, they faced challenges in generating enough power to operate two large compressors.

“Consequently, the project did not progress beyond making one half of the aircraft ‘bleed free’. Looking ahead, as advancements in electrical power generation develop, this approach could potentially become a promising solution—perhaps even the optimal one. Unfortunately, there is currently no serious effort to develop this technology.”

The monitoring of fume events is a crucial aspect of research; however, the lack of systems for detecting contaminated air presents a challenge in identifying the source and quantifying the presence of pollutants inside aircrafts.

The Spanish Airline Pilots Union (Sepla) and the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive (GCAQE), an entity advocating for the interests of aircrew, are urging the immediate installation of warning systems for contaminated air in the cockpit.

There is an immediate need to adopt an international medical protocol that recognises the adverse health effects associated with fume exposure inside aircraft cabins and cockpits. One has recently been published by Dr Michaelis and her team. However, the industry has yet to adopt it.

Protocols

Presently, there is no existing global reporting system; however, the GCAQE has proactively created the Global Cabin Air Reporting System (GCARS). This new confidential global reporting system is offered free of charge and is accessible for both crews and passengers to report incidents of contaminated air on aircraft.

Introducing training protocols for aircrew during fume events can enhance awareness and address under-reporting issues. Furthermore, improved training and reporting on bleed air and supply air contamination are necessary for maintenance staff, manufacturers, airline operators, and senior management.

“Several individuals in the industry inform us that airline executives and engineering departments prioritise eliminating odours over addressing the presence of chemicals, simply to avoid passenger complaints. 

“From a flight safety perspective, we argue that this approach is problematic, as it lacks warning indicators. It’s comparable to consuming alcohol without manifesting any immediate side effects, until you collapse”, explained Loraine.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), were contacted to comment on their protocols and planned measures for handling fume events. The FAA responded with an exact reproduction of the content found on their Cabin Air Quality website page.

Denial

Part of EASA’s response included:

“A number of investigations and research projects have been conducted by various scientific teams, involving in-flight measurements, but did not allow so far to obtain the complete characterisation of the chemical compounds involved in single cabin/cockpit air contamination (CAC) events, to determine the sources and exposure levels to contamination and to perform comprehensive toxicological risk assessment for such events.

“Due to the lack of an established relationship between CAC event exposure and potential health impairments, no standardised medical protocol is defined to evaluate affected aviation professionals.”

The CAA commented:

“Based on the available data submitted through our Mandatory Occurrence Reporting process, occurrences relating to engine bleed air are rare, forming only a very small proportion of the total number of fume event reports we receive each year.

“Sensor technology to detect fume events remains at a proof-of-concept stage. There are many sources of ‘contaminants’ in a cabin which can be detected by sensor devices, including those from catering or passengers. Until the technology has been proven to work in an aviation context, we would not advise their use at this time.”

Dr Michaelis detailed how the aviation industry perceives and addresses fume events:

“Airlines, regulators, manufacturers, and the broader aviation industry do their very best to ignore much of the scientific literature that refers to adverse effects in people exposed to bleed air contamination. 

Elusive

“Inappropriately, they insist that fume events are rare and assert there is no data establishing a link between exposures and reported adverse effects. Instead, they engage in additional scientific studies and further inquiries that fail to pose appropriate research questions or lead us in circles, repeatedly calling for more research, while dismissing the extensive data that continues to be documented.”

Dr Michaelis shares a final message to airlines, regulators, manufacturers, governments, pilots, crew members and passengers across the world:

“The breathing air in aircraft is routinely contaminated by low levels of engine oils and hydraulic fluids. 

“This practice began in the 1950s and has been thoroughly documented and acknowledged. Despite the overwhelming evidence, the aviation industry has focused on denial and obfuscation, refusing to investigate the effects on people.

“The available information is compelling, and no amount of sophisticated committees can delay addressing this problem any longer. The era of maintaining this open secret has concluded. Solutions to mitigate risks could be within reach if there is determination or a proactive approach adopted.”

Meanwhile, pilots, cabin crew and passengers continue to inhale air that could be tainted with toxic chemicals, often without awareness, experiencing the repercussions of fume events that impact their health and the safety of flights. Unfortunately, a resolution for this issue remains elusive.

Right of Reply

A Boeing spokesperson told The Ecologist:

“Safety is our top priority. The cabin air inside commercial airplanes is safe. While no indoor environment is free from contaminants, several independent studies have found that air quality on Boeing aircraft compares favorably to other indoor air environments like schools, office buildings, and homes. Cabin air is exchanged every two to three minutes. In addition, all Boeing airplanes use hospital-grade HEPA filters to remove essentially all particles from air that is re-circulated to the cabin. On modern aircraft, cabin supply air is a mixture of about 50 percent outside air and 50 percent filtered/re-circulated air. Independent researchers, universities, industry groups, and government agencies have conducted extensive research on cabin air quality. The results repeatedly demonstrate that contaminant levels generally are low and that health and safety standards are met. Based on that research, the world’s five leading aerospace medical associations have rejected a connection between cabin air and significant health effects, and no aviation regulator has determined that additional safety regulations are required. Nevertheless, Boeing continues to work with scientists to improve our understanding of cabin environmental factors and to study potential technologies such as sensors and advanced filtering.”

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Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.

Monica Piccinini is a freelance writer, focused on environmental, health and human rights issues.

Featured image: Qatar Airways Boeing 777-2DZ(LR) A7-BBF QR921 AKL->DOH dep AKL (At the time of posting, 27.03.18, world’s longest commercial flight at 7848 nm / 17 hours). XPinger (Chris Sutton) / Flickr / Creative Commons 2.0

Kiev Regime Sharply Divided: Just Killed French Mercenaries. False Flag Operation Intent on Framing Russia? President Macron Cancels His Trip to Ukraine

By Drago Bosnic, February 14, 2024

According to Vasily Prozorov, a former Ukrainian intelligence officer (specifically in the SBU, from 1999-2018, per some sources), it seems that the Kiev regime has started hunting down some French mercenaries and “volunteers” in its own ranks.

North Korea’s Kim Says Will Wipe Out Enemies If They Use Force

By TRT World, February 14, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country would not hesitate to use all of its military power to wipe out enemies if any of them used force against it as he marked the anniversary of the founding of its military, state media reported.

A View from the Frontline. Russia’s Special Military Operation (SMO). The Colonel Khodokovsky Interview. Scott Ritter

By Scott Ritter, February 14, 2024

In May 2014 Khodokovsky and many of his Alpha Group soldiers joined forces with ethnic Russians in the Donbas who objected to the illegal overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanokovich during the Maidan coup in February 2014.

Andrew Napolitano Presents an Argument for Not Extraditing Julian Assange to America

By Adam Dick, February 14, 2024

Later this month, Julian Assange of Wikileaks is scheduled to have what may be his final Great Britain hearing regarding the ruling that he will be extradited from Great Britain to America. In light of this situation, legal scholar and former New Jersey state judge Andrew Napolitano posted on Friday a video commentary in which he directs comments to the British judges who will preside at the hearing, asking them to reject extradition.

Blinken Tour of Africa Highlights Failed War Policy of the United States

By Abayomi Azikiwe, February 14, 2024

A recent four-nation trip by United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken was marked by efforts to denigrate China and Russia as development and security partners of the African Union (AU) member states.

Why Doesn’t the International Criminal Court (ICC) Arrest Netanyahu?

By Karsten Riise, February 14, 2024

The breakdown of international justice has a high probability and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been controlled unlawfully (!) by the West. Here is an interview with Professor Mariniello, who has studied the ICC.

Having a COVID-19 mRNA Vaccinated Nurse in the Household Can be Fatal for Their Loved Ones

By Dr. William Makis, February 14, 2024

Vast majority of COVID-19 mRNA vaccinated doctors and nurses pushed the jabs on their own family members, to their detriment. I have reported 100s of vaxxed nurses dying suddenly or developing late stage Turbo Cancers. 

Zaluzhny fora do cargo pode ser uma ameaça para Zelensky.

February 14th, 2024 by Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

Valery Zaluzhny deixou o cargo de comandante-chefe das forças armadas ucranianas em 8 de fevereiro, sendo substituído por Aleksandr Syrsky. A princípio, a mudança parecia uma espécie de vitória de Zelensky nas disputas contra Zaluzhny. Contudo, analisando o caso em profundidade, é possível concluir que o presidente ucraniano continua sob forte ameaça.

Ainda não está totalmente claro se a mudança foi uma demissão ou uma demissão voluntária por parte de Zaluzhny. O ex-comandante foi elogiado pelo presidente ucraniano e pelo ministro da Defesa numa cerimónia oficial, fazendo a opinião pública acreditar que o impasse entre o general e o governo tinha finalmente terminado. Sem dúvida, as tensões parecem ter diminuído até certo ponto, mas é impossível considerar o cenário atual como pacificado.

A remoção de Zaluzhny foi precedida por sérios atritos entre ele e Zelesnky. O general recebeu até apoio público de milicianos neonazistas ucranianos, o que implica que ele e a sua equipe estavam dispostos, se necessário, a lutar contra o governo oficial de Kiev. Mais do que isso, Zaluzhny parecia estar a criar uma espécie de “exército privado”, poupando as organizações neonazistas da linha da frente, a fim de mantê-las ao seu serviço em caso de conflito civil.

Altas tensões como estas raramente são resolvidas num curto período. Nada indica que tenha havido uma melhoria real nas relações entre Zaluzhny e Zelensky, o que levanta uma série de suspeitas. Na verdade, em vez de uma “vitória” de Zelensky, a manobra para destituir Zaluzhny pode ter fortalecido o general – razão pela qual ele não parece estar reagindo negativamente ao caso. Em vez de ficar incapacitado com a sua remoção, Zaluzhny pode simplesmente estar a ver isso como um benefício para os seus planos pessoais.

Fora do escritório, Zaluzhny tem liberdade para tomar decisões importantes sobre seu futuro. Ele já não terá de conciliar os seus planos pessoais com as responsabilidades de gestão das tropas do regime no campo de batalha. Seu foco estará totalmente direcionado para alcançar seus objetivos particulares. Agora Zaluzhny também tem a liberdade de decidir abandonar a carreira militar e entrar na política, usando a popularidade que teve durante o seu posto militar para obter o apoio de diferentes setores da sociedade ucraniana.

Muitos analistas acreditam que as tensões entre Zelensky e Zaluzhny são o resultado da tentativa do general de se promover politicamente. As razões para tal tentativa estão relacionadas com a “competição” de alguns responsáveis ​​ucranianos para ganhar a simpatia ocidental durante este momento atual – em que as críticas a Zelensky estão a aumentar e a OTAN está a considerar substituí-lo.

O grande risco que Zaluzhny representa para Zelensky é essencialmente político, e não meramente administrativo e burocrático. Fora do seu papel militar, Zaluzhny perde uma posição burocrática, mas continua a ser uma figura política proeminente – o que deveria causar preocupação a Zelensky. Agora, Zaluzhny está isento da responsabilidade pelo iminente fracasso militar das forças ucranianas e tem mais autonomia para agir politicamente.

Para piorar a situação, Zaluzhny possivelmente tem a seu favor as milícias neonazistas que foram poupadas do front. Na prática, estes grupos nacionalistas são mais fortes e mais bem armados do que as tropas de recrutas idosos e adolescentes que hoje constituem a maioria das forças armadas. Assim, Zaluzhny parece definitivamente ter feito um “bom negócio” ao concordar em deixar o seu cargo anterior para ter agora as condições necessárias para operar politicamente, tendo militantes fascistas à sua disposição.

Obviamente, Zaluzhny só agirá contra o governo se receber instruções para o fazer de seus patrocinadores ocidentais. Os verdadeiros tomadores de decisões em relação à Ucrânia são funcionários da OTAN, uma vez que o governo ucraniano não tem qualquer soberania para decidir nada sobre o seu próprio futuro. Se Zelensky decidir perturbar os planos ocidentais para o substituir, é possível que a OTAN apoie Zaluzhny e os seus nazistas numa manobra para derrubar o governo.

Não há muito que Zelensky possa fazer para impedir isto. Ele aceitou governar de acordo com os interesses americanos e tornou-se um mero proxy representando a OTAN numa guerra com a Rússia. Enquanto este for o seu papel, ele terá simplesmente de obedecer às ordens ocidentais – mesmo que essas ordens sejam para que renuncie ao cargo de presidente. Não faz sentido Zelensky tentar realizar expurgos e demissões de seus inimigos. Ele continuará refém dos interesses americanos, sendo vulnerável a qualquer decisão que os ocidentais tomem sobre o futuro da Ucrânia.

Quanto ao campo de batalha e ao cenário militar do conflito, o impacto da mudança é quase nulo para a Rússia. Espera-se que Syrsky promova um novo “moedor de carne”, considerando que ele foi o principal responsável pela sangrenta campanha militar em Bakhmut. Alguns acreditam que ele fará algo semelhante agora em Avdeevka e outras regiões disputadas. No entanto, as consequências deste tipo de política afetarão apenas os próprios ucranianos, sem qualquer impacto na condução russa da operação.

No final, a principal mudança resultante da demissão de Zaluzhny parece ser o enfraquecimento de Zelensky. Politicamente, Zaluzhny poderá ser muito mais forte a partir de agora.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

 

Artigo em inglês :

Commander in Chief Zaluzhny Out of Office, Could be a Threat to Zelensky

https://infobrics.org/post/40456

 

Imagem : InfoBrics

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Lucas Leiroz, jornalista, pesquisador do Center for Geostrategic Studies, consultor geopolítico.

Você pode seguir Lucas Leiroz em: https://t.me/lucasleiroz e https://twitter.com/leiroz_lucas

Experimentos ilegais conduzidos em Mariupol pela Big Pharma.

February 14th, 2024 by Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

Estão a surgir cada vez mais provas sobre as atividades biomédicas ilegais dos EUA em ex territórios ucranianos. Além do tema das armas biológicas, descobriu-se recentemente que grandes empresas farmacêuticas ocidentais estavam a realizar testes de drogas em cidadãos da etnia russa num hospital psiquiátrico em Donbass, com aprovação e apoio das autoridades ucranianas.

De acordo com documentos recentemente descobertos e publicados pelos meios de comunicação russos, pacientes de um hospital psiquiátrico em Mariupol estavam a ser submetidos a exames médicos irregulares por agentes ligados às grandes empresas farmacêuticas ocidentais. O hospital “No. 7″ em Mariupol está atualmente em obras de restauração. Durante as atividades de reparo, funcionários locais encontraram documentos no porão das instalações do setor psiquiátrico que comprovam que empresas estrangeiras testavam extra-oficialmente medicamentos reumatológicos em pacientes locais.

O objetivo da pesquisa foi avaliar a eficácia dos medicamentos de acordo com os padrões estabelecidos pelo American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Várias empresas participaram dos experimentos, incluindo grandes corporações farmacêuticas, como “Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Celltrion, Novatris International AG, IQVIA, Sanofi, Galapagos NV, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Abbott Laboratories, Covance, Merck KGaA, Centocor Biopharmaceutical e até uma filial da Samsung que produz equipamentos médicos.”

No mesmo local onde os documentos estavam guardados também foram encontradas caixas contendo biomateriais. Os materiais aparentemente estavam prontos para serem enviados a laboratórios nos EUA, Reino Unido e Suíça. Com isso, as autoridades russas conseguiram obter evidências biológicas, e não apenas documentos, sobre tais pesquisas – mostrando que os experimentos foram de fato realizados.

“De acordo com os resultados do estudo dos documentos, soube-se que os medicamentos foram testados em pessoas numeradas, sem nomes. Os próprios medicamentos estavam em envelopes brancos e também sem nomes. medicamentos em relação à proporção de pacientes que obtiveram resposta de acordo com os critérios do American College of Rheumatology.Além disso, foram encontradas caixas contendo muitos envelopes de empresas de logística e contêineres para biomateriais com endereços de destinatários em laboratórios da Suíça, o Reino Unido e os Estados Unidos”, diz o relatório russo.

A seleção de pacientes psiquiátricos parece ter sido uma decisão “estratégica” por parte das empresas ocidentais e das autoridades ucranianas. Obviamente, as pessoas com condições psiquiátricas frágeis são um alvo “mais fácil” de serem convencidas a submeter-se a tais experiências. Mais do que isso, muitos dos pacientes podem ter sido submetidos aos testes de forma totalmente inconsciente, tendo seus corpos explorados abusivamente por médicos estrangeiros.

Estas práticas não parecem surpreendentes, no entanto. Já havia sido revelado que agentes estrangeiros realizaram testes com neuromoduladores em pacientes socialmente vulneráveis ​​na região de Kharkov. Em 2022, as forças russas expuseram provas de que experiências deste tipo tinham ocorrido em bio-laboratórios militares americanos, causando danos irreversíveis ao sistema nervoso de vários pacientes submetidos aos procedimentos ilegais.

“De acordo com as informações disponíveis, substâncias altamente ativas de neuromoduladores foram testadas em cidadãos socialmente vulneráveis ​​​​da Ucrânia, o que causou, entre outras coisas, danos irreversíveis ao sistema nervoso central. Graças aos documentos obtidos durante a operação militar especial, tomamos conhecimento de que tais estudos têm sido realizados na Ucrânia desde pelo menos 2011, e Alharoun visitou repetidamente a filial do laboratório Merefa, construído às custas do Pentágono na vila de Sorokovka, região de Kharkov”, disse na época o tenente-general Igor Kirillov, chefe da defesa radioativa, química e biológica das Forças Armadas russas.

Na verdade, os bio-laboratórios americanos na Ucrânia eram esquemas conjuntos civis-militares, tendo recebido financiamento não só do Pentágono, mas também de organizações privadas como as grandes empresas farmacêuticas e até de fundações “filantrópicas” ligadas ao conhecido oligarca George Soros. Esta ampla rede de promoção da investigação biomédica funcionava num sistema de cooperação em que o Pentágono desenvolvia armas biológicas e empresas privadas utilizavam instalações militares para realizar experiências irregulares, inoculando os seus medicamentos em pacientes nativos vulneráveis.

É chocante saber que o governo ucraniano cooperou com este tipo de prática e permitiu que os seus cidadãos fossem sujeitos a tais abusos por parte de agentes estrangeiros. Isto apenas mostra como, de fato, o regime de Kiev nunca se importou com o seu próprio povo, estando disposto até a permitir operações de elevado perigo biológico no seu território apenas para agradar aos seus “parceiros” ocidentais.

Na prática, a libertação territorial através da força militar russa foi a única forma de impedir a continuação destes atos brutais.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida 

 

Artigo em inglês :

https://infobrics.org/post/40465

Imagem : InfoBrics

*

Lucas Leiroz, jornalista, pesquisador do Center for Geostrategic Studies, consultor geopolítico.

Você pode seguir Lucas Leiroz em: https://t.me/lucasleiroz e https://twitter.com/leiroz_lucas

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

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Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.

 

Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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The idea that the Kiev regime is sharply divided as its various interest groups are contending for power and influence, mostly in a manner not dissimilar to a hyena brawl, has become an axiom at this point. This has gone so far that those loyal to Volodymyr Zelensky are ready to go after their own comrades in arms to further his agenda, a fact best illustrated by the recent shootdown of the Russian IL-76MD transport aircraft packed with well over 60 Ukrainian POWs (prisoners of war), including at least a dozen members of the infamous “Azov Battalion”.

The purely Neo-Nazi unit has been involved in gruesome war crimes against the people of Donbass or anyone else refusing to subscribe to their repulsive ideology. The death of such people is surely not something to lament over, but it certainly raises numerous questions. Namely, if the Kiev regime is ready to target its most loyal henchmen with absolutely zero remorse, who else could possibly feel safe?

It seems France just learned this lesson, albeit the hard way, as is usually the case when dealing with the Neo-Nazi junta. According to Vasily Prozorov, a former Ukrainian intelligence officer (specifically in the SBU, from 1999-2018, per some sources), it seems that the Kiev regime has started hunting down some French mercenaries and “volunteers” in its own ranks.

Namely, businessman Adrien Baudon de Mony-Pajol and his associate Guennadi Guermanovitch were killed on February 1. Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson administration, claimed that the two French citizens were allegedly killed in a Russian strike.

French President Emmanuel Macron himself also spoke about their deaths, insisting they were “humanitarians”. However, Prozorov claims to have completely different information, suggesting that the deaths of Baudon and Guermanovitch are much more likely the result of the Neo-Nazi junta’s false flag operation.

As it turns out, Guermanovitch, a man of Belarussian origin, is a highly trained security specialist. He is a retired member of the French Foreign Legion who had close ties not only with various Neo-Nazi organizations in France, but also with the Kiev-aligned Belarussian “Kastus Kalinouski” regiment, currently led by Dzianis Prokharau.

According to Prozorov’s sources, Baudon and Guermanovitch were actually shot on the Odessa-Kiev highway in the area of the Razdelnyanskaya community in the Odessa region, not as a result of the alleged Russian drone strike on a car in Berislav, as Prokudin claims.

Prozorov says that the two French citizens were consultants involved in organizing the visit of a high-ranking delegation from France. It seems that Baudon and Guermanovitch found themselves in the middle of a false flag operation and that they were supposed to assist the Kiev regime’s intelligence services in carrying it out, the end goal of which was to blame Moscow.

However, having found out the details of the operation, the two men refused further cooperation and essentially tried to escape from Ukraine. It seems that precisely this cost them their lives.

Only a few days later, French President Macron canceled his scheduled visit to Ukraine, citing security reasons, seemingly suggesting that the deteriorating situation is Russia’s responsibility.

However, the real reason might be precisely the Neo-Nazi junta’s false flag operation. The Kremlin has zero reasons to jeopardize Macron. In fact, it would’ve made much more sense for it to neutralize people like Boris Johnson, who effectively sabotaged the March 2022 peace deal that would’ve ended the conflict in less than a month. However, Russia simply doesn’t operate that way. The Kiev regime, on the other hand, certainly does. Its readiness to sacrifice anyone or anything to hurt Moscow’s interests has been perfectly clear from the very moment it took power.

The false flag almost certainly involved the murder or at least an attack on the French delegation. This would then be blamed on Russia, with the goal of making sure there would be no possible rapprochement or new peace negotiations, as President Vladimir Putin suggested in his recent interview with Tucker Carlson. It would also almost certainly result in escalating tensions between Russia and France (and, by extension the European Union and NATO), further cementing the conflict in Europe. Baudon and Guermanovitch most likely realized just how dangerous it is to be involved in such an operation, so they wanted to get out of Ukraine as soon as possible. However, the information they had at that point was far too incriminating and the Neo-Nazi junta certainly wouldn’t have allowed them to leave the country with it. Any potential public revelations about the abortive false flag would’ve surely made the Kiev regime even more unpopular in Europe and elsewhere.

As for Macron, this should serve as a bitter lesson for his foolish policy of supporting the Neo-Nazi junta. Nearly two years ago, it could’ve cost him re-election in the aftermath of the Battle of Mariupol and the fall of Azovstal. However, even that pales in comparison to the fact that the Kiev regime, a loose cannon(particularly in recent years), is ready to sacrifice anyone and anything to further its mindless goal of “defeating Russia”. According to Prozorov, the fact that the false flag failed doesn’t mean that the Neo-Nazi junta gave up on the idea. He doesn’t rule out the possibility that its intelligence services might soon try to carry out something similar and warns that a new operation could target a high-ranking delegation from another country. What’s more, he claims that, instead of giving up on this deranged idea, the Kiev regime will simply try to draw conclusions and learn from its mistakes so it could conduct more false flags.

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Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.

This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.

Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.

Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

***

Judicial Watch announced today it received 99 pages of Secret Service records from the Department of Homeland Security in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that show Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas personally declined presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request for Secret Service protection.

Judicial Watch received the records through a September 26, 2023, lawsuit that was filed after the Department of Homeland Security failed to respond to a July 31, 2023, FOIA request for senior department officials’ communications regarding the provision of Secret Service protection for Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:23-cv-02846)).

The newly obtained records include a July 21, 2023, two-sentence letter sent by Mayorkas to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, advising her:

On May 26, 2023, Candidate for President Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. submitted a request to the Department of Homeland Security for United States Secret Service protection. In accordance with the authority set forth in Title 18, United States Code, Section 3056(a)(7), and in consultation with the Candidate Protection Advisory Committee, I decline to identify Candidate Kennedy for United States Secret Service protection at this time.

Mayorkas copied the letter to the members of the Candidate Protection Advisory Committee: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson.

As noted in a previous production of records from this lawsuit, the Secretary of Homeland Security has “broad discretion” when authorizing Secret Service protection to presidential or vice-presidential candidates:

Who receives protection?

The Secret Service does not determine who qualifies for protection, nor is the Secret Service empowered to independently initiate candidate protection.

Under 18 U.S.C.’ 3056(a)(7), “[m]ajor Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates,” as identified by the Secretary of Homeland Security, are eligible for Secret Service protection.

Title 18 U.S.C’ 3056(a)(7) authorizes the U.S. Secret Service to provide protection for major presidential and vice presidential candidates:

Protection is authorized by the OHS Secretary after consultation with the Congressional Advisory Committee

The Congressional Advisory Committee includes: Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, and one additional member selected by the others

Protection under these guidelines should only be granted within one year prior to the general election. Protection more than one year prior to the general election should only be granted in extraordinary, case by case circumstances in consultation with the committee, based on threat assessment and other factors.

Secret Service protection for presidential candidates began in 1968 after the assassination of Democrat candidate Robert F. Kennedy, the father of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The new records also show the Kennedy 2024 presidential campaign sent several requests to DHS seeking protection for the candidate, who initially ran as a Democrat but switched to Independent after realizing Democrats had no intention of allowing him to challenge Joe Biden for the party’s 2024 nomination.

The Kennedy for President organization’s first request for Secret Service protection was sent “Sensitive and Confidential” on May 26, 2023, from an unidentified official in Kennedy’s organization and reads:

“As [redacted] for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s campaign for President of the United States, I am writing to request United States Secret Service protection for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr from this point forward pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3056(a)(7), which authorizes the Secret Service to provide protection to ‘Major Presidential Candidates.’ Robert F. Kennedy, Jr appears to have met this standard and we ask that you and your Congressional Protection Advisory Committee consider this request. If you authorize the Secret Service to protect Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, he will accept this protection as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made. With respect for your time and process, the campaign commissioned an expert risk assessment in advance of today’s request (attached). If you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.”

The accompanying 62-page attachment is entirely redacted under FOIA exemptions relating to personal privacy and deliberative process.

On July 7, 2023, the Kennedy organization, “Team Kennedy,” sends a letter via email to Kristie Canegallo, acting deputy secretary and chief of staff at DHS, with the subject line “Urgent Request for Sec. Mayorkas Re Secret Service Protection of Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.” along with an attachment titled “RFK Jr. Risk Assessment Declaration May 24, 2023.” In their cover email to Canegallo, Kennedy’s representatives write, “I am forwarding to you for immediate action by Secretary Mayorkas the attached files in the interest of protection by the United States Secret Service of Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I can be reached at anytime at [redacted] for confirmation, or to answer questions. Thank you in advance for your assistance.” The attached “sensitive and confidential” letter states:

As [redacted] of the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., I am asking for an immediate response to my request for United States Secret Service protection Mr. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

You may know that within 24-hours after the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, President Johnson directed the Secret Service to provide protection to presidential candidates. Just days later, the Secret Service became responsible for the safety of five candidates, and by the end of the 1968 campaign, twelve candidates were protected by the USSS. The new responsibility was undertaken to ensure the safety of candidates and others in their vicinity – and to protect the electoral process itself.

Given Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s well-established risk as a presidential candidate, our campaign submitted a written request following the formal process. Our request was received at DHS on June 1, 2023. Presidential candidates traditionally hear back within 14 days; it has been more than 30-days since the formal request.

As I write this today, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. remains at risk of being harmed in connection with his Presidential campaign – and that risk is escalating.

Many weeks ago, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. met the criteria for a presidential candidate to receive Secret Service coverage, pursuant to Title 18 U.S.C. 3056(a)(7). He has polled above the threshold, has been actively campaigning on a national basis, operates a national campaign apparatus, has appeared before thousands of audience members at events in many states, regularly appears as a candidate on national network news programs, town halls, podcasts, interviews, is producing campaign materials, advertisements, and websites, is successfully fundraising, and has assembled a large campaign staff.

Again, our campaign has not heard back from the DHS since submitting the request. The risk to Mr. Kennedy, and those around him, persists and increases during this waiting period.

I have attached the first request and our initial threat assessment.

“It is simply despicable that Secretary Mayorkas refused needed Secret Service protection for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “That it took a federal FOIA lawsuit to force out this information speaks volumes.”

Judicial Watch also recently released Secret Service records under this lawsuit that showed Assistant Director Michael Plati ordering his staff not to respond to a request for information from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s head of security. The documents also confirmed that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alexander Mayorkas and President Biden both have the discretion to provide Secret Service protection to Kennedy at any time.

In September 2023, Judicial Watch received Secret Service records detailing the denial of protection to presidential candidate Kennedy despite having received numerous threats from “known subjects.”

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Patients, staff and displaced Palestinians at Nasser Hospital are in “extreme danger”, the Gaza Health Ministry has warned, describing catastrophic conditions at the Khan Younis facility as Israel continues to lay siege to southern Gaza.

Displaced people sheltering in the hospital have been ordered to evacuate but are being shot while trying to flee the complex, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Medics and patients have been ordered to remain in the building, where sewage has flooded the emergency department. 

Medical staff cannot move corpses to the mortuary due to the dangerous conditions, said ministry spokesman Dr Ashraf Al Qudra.

More than 130 Palestinians were killed during overnight Israeli strikes on Gaza, bringing the death toll across the enclave to nearly 28,500 and 68,000 wounded since October 7.

Schools surrounding Nasser Hospital were also set on fire by Israeli shelling, and the ministry warned an epidemic may be hard to avoid as waste accumulates.

Dr Suleiman Qaoud surveys the damage at the Rantisi Specialist Hospital, part of the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza City, following Israeli missile attacks on November 6, 2023 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

As a ground operation on the southern city of Rafah looms, many of the 1.4 million people who have sought refuge there are now moving north, back towards central Gaza, only to find their homes destroyed.

Abu Hamza Ali, originally from Al Shijaiaa in northern Gaza, is among those who have decided to move again. He had already relocated to Rafah because of the war, but was loading all his belongings on to a truck to head back north to central Gaza.

“Everywhere is dangerous, and I am staying in Rafah in a tent, so I will move the tent away from Rafah,” he told The National.

He initially fled his home to Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, then moved to Rafah, and now he is returning to Deir Al Balah.

“From the beginning, I didn’t plan on leaving my home. If the Israeli army intends to harm us, why did they tell us to flee to the south for our safety? Now, they have targeted us in the south,” he added.

The UN and foreign nations have repeatedly warned Israel against launching a full-scale ground offensive on Rafah, bordering Egypt, which is the last place of refuge for more than half of Gaza’s population.

Israeli attacks on the city have already caused widespread devastation, including during a hostage rescue operation which killed at least 67 Palestinians on Monday morning.

In anticipation of a potential Israeli offensive against Rafah, South Africa announced on Tuesday that it had sent an urgent request to the International Court of Justice.

“In a request submitted to the court yesterday, the South African government said it was gravely concerned that the unprecedented military offensive against Rafah, as announced by the State of Israel, has already led to and will result in further large-scale killing, harm, and destruction,” it said in a statement posted to the government website.

An Israeli invasion of Rafah “would be in serious and irreparable breach both of the Genocide Convention and of the court’s order of 26 January, 2024,” it added.

Late last month, the top UN court ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction, and any acts of genocide in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stood firm on his decision to invade the city, saying enough hostages are still alive to warrant military action.

Palestinians line up to fetch some water in a refugee camp in Gaza. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

According to International Court of Justice statutes quoted by South Africa, the court may at any time rule on factors that “require the indication of provisional measures which ought to be taken or complied with by any or all of the parties”.

“South Africa trusts this matter will receive the necessary urgency in light of the daily death toll in Gaza,” it added.

On the ground, civilians struggle to guess where they will be safe.

Alongside bombing Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza, the Israeli military has also continued to hit targets in central Gaza. An air strike on Tuesday killed at least 16 people in the Nuseirat refugee camp there.

Soha Salah, along with her three children, cannot find a place to stay.

“I was sitting with our relatives in their house, and their house was partially destroyed due to Israeli shelling. So, I decided to leave Rafah because my children are scared,” she told The National.

“I thought maybe I could find one of the UNRWA schools, but all schools are full. I am also afraid of diseases, so where should I go?”

Abu Al Saeed Al Sousi, who owned a group of well-known falafel shops in Gaza, stands in front of a large frying pan, preparing falafel in Deir Al Balah.

His shops were completely destroyed, so he fled to central Gaza and started anew, frying food on firewood. Shortages force him to serve falafel without bread or parsley.

“We don’t have any resources here. Everything is difficult. It takes time because firewood is not as fast as gas,” Mr Al Sousi told The National.

“The prices are higher than before because the ingredients cost me a lot, but I want my shop to continue providing services for the people,” he added.

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Featured image: Smoke rises during an Israeli ground operation in Khan Younis, seen from a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, southern Gaza. Reuters

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Last month I journeyed from Crimea to the so-called “New Territories” of Russia—Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Lugansk. These four former oblasts, or districts, of Ukraine had been absorbed into the Russian Federation following referenda held on the soil of each territory where the citizens were given the choice of joining Russia or remaining in Ukraine.

The referenda were held from September 23-27, 2022. The results were unambiguous—by convincing majorities, the participants in the referenda voted to join Russia, and were so incorporated on September 30, 2022.

The absorption of these new territories into the Russian Federation altered the very essence of the Special Military Operation, or SMO, that Russian President Vladimir Putin had initiated back in February 2022.

The SMO had already gone from being a Russian-Ukrainian conflict to one that put Russia in opposition to Ukraine and its Western allies—the so-called “collective West” (the US, NATO, and the European Union.) But even with the scope and scale of the conflict having been expanded, it was still being fought on what was either Ukrainian territory (Kherson, Zaporizhia, parts of Nikolaev, and parts of Kharkov, as well as the independent republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.) After the referenda, most of the battlefield became, from the perspective of the Russian Federation, Russian territory.

The geopolitical implications of this transformation were significant—the conflict had suddenly become a question of Russia’s existential survival, a reality which, given the fact that Russia possessed a massive nuclear arsenal designed to deter threats against its existential survival, took on literal life-and-death issues that had to be factored into the strategic thinking of all parties involved.

By the beginning of 2024, the SMO had taken on a new character, one which saw the strategic balance of power shift irretrievably away from Ukraine and the collective West, and over to Russia. One of my goals in visiting the New Territories was to seek out interviews with frontline commanders and their soldiers to capture their perspectives in a manner that could be communicated back to a western audience. Alexander Zyrianov, my host, had reached out to Kirill, a Russian patriot from Moscow who had been facilitating the delivery of non-lethal aid (food, clothing, etc.) to Russian soldiers on the frontlines. Through Kirill, Alexander had lined up five visits to a variety of frontline units so that I could conduct the desired interviews.

Scott Ritter (left) and Alexander Khodokovsky (right) in Donetsk. Irina Kirkora, the Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, is in the middle.

However, the powers that be decided that it was too risky for me to conduct these interviews (they would have involved getting into range of Ukrainian first-person-view (FPV) suicide drones and field artillery.) In the end I was granted only one interview—with Colonel Alexander Khodokovsky, the commanding officer of the Vostok Battalion. Prior to May 2014, Colonel Khodokovsky was the commander of the elite Alpha Group special forces unit, part of the Ukrainian Security Services (the SBU).

In May 2014 Khodokovsky and many of his Alpha Group soldiers joined forces with ethnic Russians in the Donbas who objected to the illegal overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanokovich during the Maidan coup in February 2014. Khodokovsky’s Alpha Group soldiers formed the core of what became known as the Vostok Battalion, part of the militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic, and later, following the absorption of the Donetsk People’s Republic into the Russian Federation at the end of September 2022, part of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

I met Colonel Khodokovsky at an undisclosed location somewhere in the vicinity of the city of Donetsk. I had been prepared to discuss military matters, including how drones had changed the nature of modern warfare. Instead, Colonel Khodokosky and I engaged in a more philosophical discussion about US-Russian relations and the prospects for peace.

What follows is that interview:

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Featured image: The author signs a copy of his book for Colonel Khodokovsky. 

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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The Israeli army introduced groups of Israeli civilians into detention centres and prisons holding Palestinian prisoners and detainees from the Gaza Strip, permitting the civilians to witness torture crimes against the detainees, with many allowed to film them on their own phones.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor received shocking testimonies from recently released Palestinian prisoners and detainees, in which they reported that the Israeli army invited a number of Israeli civilians during their interrogation sessions to witness torture and inhumane treatment, to which they were deliberately subjected in the presence of the civilians.

Arrested during ground incursions by Israeli army forces into the Strip, the prisoners and detainees were held for varying periods of time inside two detention centres: one located in the Zikim area on the northern border of the Gaza Strip, and another affiliated with the Naqab prison in southern Israel.

The released detainees told Euro-Med Monitor that the Israeli soldiers had purposefully presented them before Israeli civilians, falsely claiming that they were fighters affiliated with Palestinian armed factions and that they had taken part in the 7 October attack on Israeli towns on Gaza Strip borders.

According to testimony received by Euro-Med Monitor, groups of ten to twenty Israeli civilians at a time were permitted to watch and laughingly film Palestinian prisoners and detainees in their underwear while Israeli army soldiers subjected them to physical abuse, including beating them with metal batons, electric sticks, and pouring hot water on their heads. The detainees were also verbally abused.

This is the first time that these illegal practices have come to the attention of Euro-Med Monitor. It adds a new crime to the list of those committed by the Israeli army against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and specifically against prisoners and detainees who are subjected to cruel torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and denials of a fair trial, among other atrocities.

Palestinian Omar Abu Mudallala, 43, told the Euro-Med Monitor team:

“I was arrested at the checkpoint set up near the Kuwait roundabout, which separates Gaza City from the central region, as part of the Israeli random arrest campaigns. I was subjected to all types of torture and abuse for approximately 52 days,” pointing out that Israeli soldiers “brought Israeli civilians to watch our nude torture.”

Abu Mudallala added:

“The Israeli army brought a number of Israeli civilians into our detention centres while beating us and telling them, ‘These are Hamas terrorists who killed you and raped your women on 7 October,’ while the Israeli civilians were filming us being beaten, abused, and tortured while making fun of us.”

“This happened five times while I was being held. The first time was in Barkasat Zikim, where we were blindfolded. However, one of the detainees who speaks Hebrew told us that the soldiers were interacting with Israeli civilians claiming that we were armed fighters. The other four incidents took place in the Negev detention facility, where successive Israeli groups were taken inside tents to witness our abuse and record the torture methods we were subjected to without allowing us to speak or interact with them. Since we were not wearing blindfolds at the time, I saw them all four times with my own eyes.”

Abu Mudallalasaid that

“one of the detainees who speaks Hebrew tried to explain to the Israeli civilians that we are civilians and we had nothing to do with any military activities, but that also did not help. However, he was subjected to severe psychological and physical torture. It was really shameful to bring Israeli citizens to record our torture for being allegedly involved in killing and rape incidents.”

Forty-two-year-old D.H. also told Euro-Med Monitor:

“Israeli civilians were brought to witness the abuse and torture that we were subjected to, which the army deliberately began when they were present. These Israelis sometimes brought their dogs with them to bark on us. They also took pictures of us and post them on social media apps, particularly “TikTok,” with the soldiers themselves did the same.”

Euro-Med Monitor was taken aback by the evident falsity of the Israeli army’s claim that the Palestinian civilians subjected to torture in the presence of Israeli civilians were fighters involved in the October 7 attack – when the subsequent release of the detainees serves as proof that this narrative is untrue and was intended as a means of exacting revenge on Palestinian civilians and attacking their dignity.

According to Euro-Med Monitor, the Israeli army’s torture and inhumane treatment of Palestinian prisoners and detainees is illegal under the Rome Statute and constitutes crimes against humanity. The army’s staging of these abuses as entertainment for Israeli civilians and subsequent photography of the victims amounts to a grave violation of the dignity of these individuals, as well as the commission of war crimes.

Euro-Med Monitor warns of the dire consequences of introducing Israeli civilians into arrest and detention centres, displaying Palestinian detainees to them during torture, and letting them use their personal phones to document these inhumane practices. This is a retaliatory approach that falls within the framework of promoting  false Israeli propaganda, perpetuating a state of extremism, fueling hatred, and inflaming Israeli public opinion to incite more crimes and rights violations against Palestinians.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor asserts that the vast majority of those arrested from within the Gaza Strip have been subjected to arbitrary detention without being charged or brought to justice, with no legal measures taken against them. They are also denied a fair trial and are subjected to forced disappearance, torture, and inhumane treatment. Euro-Med Monitor calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross to inspect Israeli detention centres and prisons holding Palestinian prisoners and detainees, investigate the horrific violations and crimes they are subjected to, and work to bring these conditions to light immediately.

Furthermore, Euro-Med Monitor asserts that Israeli practices against Palestinian detainees are blatant violations of international conventions and standards, particularly the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids an occupying authority from transferring prisoners from the occupied territory to detention facilities on its territory, as well as torturing, attacking, or otherwise degrading the human dignity of those detained.

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Later this month, Julian Assange of Wikileaks is scheduled to have what may be his final Great Britain hearing regarding the ruling that he will be extradited from Great Britain to America. In light of this situation, legal scholar and former New Jersey state judge Andrew Napolitano posted on Friday a video commentary in which he directs comments to the British judges who will preside at the hearing, asking them to reject extradition.

Napolitano starts off his video commentary describing Assange as “an American hero and an international hero as well.” Further, argues Napolitano,

Assange “is the most important journalist in the world at this moment in time because he had the courage and intellectual fortitude to expose the fatal and maniacal excesses of the American government and its foreign policy in the Middle East.”

The information Assange published regarding the United States government that is at the heart of why the US demands his extradition was information that Napolitano explains is freely publishable under US law. Citing the US Supreme Court’s Pentagon Papers decision for support, Napolitano summarizes the relevant law as follows: “When a journalist receives something of material interest to the public — it doesn’t matter how he receives it, he is free to publish it without civil or criminal liability.”

Assange should thus be protected under US law from prosecution. As Napolitano, who is an Advisory Board member for the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, puts it, Assange “should not be tried for anything” and the ongoing effort to prosecute him is a “profound injustice.”

After laying out this information, Napolitano directs his comments to the judges for the upcoming hearing. Napolitano concludes that “Julian Assange cannot get a fair trial in the United States on these charges” and will also “never see the light of day” if extradited, suggesting Assange will spend the remainder of his life incarcerated. Indeed, Napolitano states that extradition will kill Assange. This may sound extreme, but keep in mind that Assange has already been suffering in horrid conditions over years of confinement in Great Britain. There is a limit to what people can take, and Assange may reach that limit if he is not freed soon.

Watch Napolitano’s video commentary here:

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Adam worked from 2003 through 2013 as a legislative aide for Rep. Ron Paul. Previously, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Board of Elections, a co-manager of Ed Thompson’s 2002 Wisconsin governor campaign, and a lawyer in New York and Connecticut.

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Israeli Finance Minister and the leader of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich is preventing a shipment of US-funded flour to Gaza, under the pretext that the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is the recipient, Axios reported, citing two Israeli and US officials.

US officials noted that this action contradicts a commitment made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to US President Biden a few weeks ago, adding to the growing frustration between the two, as per Axios.

Dive Deeper

More than a month ago, top officials in the Biden administration discussed the potential shipment of flour. The Israeli war and security cabinets granted approval for the delivery to proceed from the port of “Ashdod” in southern “Israel” to Gaza through the “Kerem Shalom” crossing.

Both President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken have expressed gratitude publicly to the Israeli government for permitting the flour shipment. However, despite the approvals, the shipment has faced delays and remains stranded at the “Ashdod” port for weeks now, the report added.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich obstructed the transfer, instructing the Israeli customs service not to release the shipment as long as UNRWA was the recipient.

This comes amid an Israeli campaign to stigmatize the agency’s credibility after “Israel” accused 12 of its members of being affiliated with the October 7 operation conducted by the Palestinian Resistance. As a result,  the UK, the US, and 14 other countries have opted to defund the organization, primarily led by the United States, prior to any investigation and without any proof provided despite the unbearable civilian toll and dire humanitarian crisis due to the current Israeli genocide.

Bezalel Smotrich’s office affirmed to Axios that he directed the customs service to withhold the flour shipments. In collaboration with Netanyahu, he also allegedly requested officials to explore an alternative delivery method.

It is worth noting that more than 2.2 million people, constituting the entire population of Gaza, are confronting crisis or even more severe stages of famine, as per a report from a UN-supported organization released late last year. The risk of famine is escalating daily in the region. The report disclosed that approximately half of Gaza’s population is experiencing emergency levels of food insecurity.

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Featured image: Bezalel Smotrich [File photo]

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Legal challenges regarding the Israel-Gaza War are starting to bulk lawyers’ briefs and courtroom proceedings. South Africa got matters underway with its December application before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in its campaign against the Palestinians. While determining whether genocide has taken place, the ICJ issued an interim order warning Israel to prevent genocidal acts, preserve evidence relevant to the prosecution of any such acts, and ease the crushing restrictions on humanitarian aid.

In the United States, a valiant effort was made in the US District Court for the Northern District of California to restrain the Biden administration from aiding Israel’s war efforts. The application, filed by the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, argued that President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, had made genocidal conditions possible “because of unconditional support given [to Israel] by the named official-capacity defendants in this case”.

The troubled judge, while citing the convention that foreign policy could not be the subject of a court’s jurisdiction, nonetheless implored President Biden and his officials to observe the obligations of the UN Genocide Convention. As justice Jeffrey S. White declared,

“the undisputed evidence before this Court comports with the finding of the ICJ and indicates that the current treatment of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military may plausibly constitute a genocide in violation of international law.”

A Dutch appeals court in The Hague has further added its name to this growing list of interventions. Judge Bas Boele, in siding with the human rights groups making the application including Oxfam Novib, had no such quibbles with questioning government policy towards Israel and the shipping of parts vital for the F-35 fighter. While the Netherlands does not assemble or produce the F-35, it houses at least one storage facility at Woensdrecht, where US-made components are stored for shipping to various countries.

Despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which commenced after the attacks by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023 on Israel, the Dutch government had not discontinued deliveries under a permit granted in 2016. This is despite the monumentally lethal nature of a war that has left 28,100 Palestinians dead, and the decision by the ICJ.

The lower court had, in a similar vein to their US counterparts, adopted the position that decisions regarding export permits of weapon components tended to be of a political and policy nature, warranting wide executive latitude. The judge duly held that the Minister of Foreign Trade and Cooperation had weighed up the relevant interests in the case in deciding to continue with the exports.

Such an artificial distinction – one that finds political acts that may lead to complicity in genocide armoured, if not above legal challenge – was not persuasive to the higher court.  “It is undeniable that there is a clear risk that the exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law,” the appeals court found. “Israel does not take sufficient account of the consequences for the civilian population when conducting its attacks.” Such attacks had “resulted in a disproportionate number of civilian casualties [in Gaza].”

It followed that, “The Netherlands is obliged to prohibit the export of military goods if there is a clear risk of serious violations of international humanitarian law.” The export and transit of all F-35 parts with Israel as their final destination would cease within seven days.

In responding to the ruling, Oxfam Novib Executive Director Michiel Servaes called it “an important step to force the Dutch government to adhere to international law, which the Netherlands has strongly advocated for in the past.  Israel has just launched an attack against the city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population are sheltering, the Netherlands must take immediate steps.”

Immediate steps have been duly taken, but not along the lines advocated by Oxfam; the Dutch government is appealing to the country’s Supreme Court to return to the status quo. It was always likely to happen and was timed with the February 12 visit by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“In the government’s view,” went the official statement, “the distribution of American F-35 parts is not unlawful. The government believes it is up to the State to its [sic] determine foreign policy.”

The statement also goes on to reveal the sheer scope of the F-35 supply program and its relevance to the Dutch defence industry. Whatever the humanitarian considerations about the devastation caused by Israel’s F-35 fighters, no participant wants to miss out.

“The government will do everything it can to convince allies and partners that the Netherlands remains a reliable partner in the F-35 project and in European and international defence cooperation.”

Being part of the program was also vital to the country’s own security, and that of Israel’s “in particular with regard to threats emanating from the region, for instance from Iran, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.”

The Palestinian civilians hardly figure in these considerations, though Gaza warrants the briefest of mentions.

“The Netherlands continues to call for an immediate temporary humanitarian ceasefire, and for as much humanitarian aid as possible to be allowed to reach the suffering people of Gaza. The situation is extremely serious. It is clear that international humanitarian law applies in full and Israel, too, must abide by it.” 

As, indeed, Israel implausibly claims to be doing so, even as the starving continues and the graves fill.

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Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). Email: [email protected]

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

***

As the old saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. While “borrowing” your enemy’s tactics and technology is usually seen as admitting their superiority, the entire history of warfare and rivalry among human entities boils down to precisely this – improvise, adapt and overcome, usually by any means necessary. However, this is quite difficult to admit for the side that bases its image on the idea of “moral and technological superiority”.

The political West has always insisted that it’s far ahead of all of its rivals, whether regional or global. At certain stages of its development, particularly between the 16th and 19th centuries, this was true more often than not and the belligerent power pole never shied away from using this situation to create the most exploitative system in human history, one that still exists today in the form of the atrociously (neo)colonialistrules-based world order“.

And yet, the enemy’s ideas are sometimes so far ahead that it would simply be foolish and even self-defeating not to adopt them.

In that sense, Russia has always been able to inspire numerous changes in the political West’s doctrine. Moscow’s military proficiency is as old as its history. For well over a thousand years, Russia has been building world-class weapons, which helped it not only survive a virtually impossible geopolitical situation, but also push back and create one of the most powerful states in human history. In that regard, Soviet legacy is essential to the Kremlin’s current military power.

The consequences of America’s rivalry with the USSR changed the world in ways that simply cannot be overstated and will resonate not only for decades, but centuries to come. Back in the early 1960s, the USSR was so far ahead of its competition, that it created technologies very few (if any) global powers were able to match.

This includes the FOBS or the Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (СЧОБ in Russian) for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that makes their range effectively limitless. China tested its own version of the technology only in 2021, while the United States has been unable to create anything similar.

The way the Russians are able to combine various seemingly unrelated and even otherworldly ideas and technologies is quite puzzling for their rivals. However, it’s also intriguing and often motivating.

Another example of this is a rather peculiar top-secret project under the name KM or the Korabl-Maket (Russian for Корабль-Макет, literally “Model-Ship”). KM was an ekranoplan, a vehicle combining the properties of a ship and an aircraft. In American military and scientific nomenclature, ekranoplans are better known as ground-effect vehicles (GEV), although they have several other names.

Such vehicles are as multirole as they could possibly be. They are able to move on virtually any terrain, giving the user unrivaled tactical and sometimes even strategic advantages.

Built by Russia’s Alekseyev Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau, almost certainly the world’s most prominent design bureau dealing with such technologies, the KM was a nightmare for American military planners, so much so that they named it the “Caspian Sea Monster”.

As previously mentioned, it combined the properties of a ship and an aircraft, giving it an unprecedented speed for a surface vessel, but also the ability to evade detection. In simpler terms, it was too fast for a ship, but extremely low-flying and slow enough to escape any radar at the time it was built. The US, primarily a thalassocracy, was terrified of the prospect such a vehicle would be built en masse, as it had the potential to nullify America’s naval dominance.

Despite the costs and its technological complexity, the KM was still far cheaper and easier to build than aircraft carriers and other large surface combatants. However, its design made it virtually impossible to counter it at the time, as it would’ve been effectively immune to both anti-ship (be it missiles or torpedoes) and SAM (surface-to-air missiles) systems. Not knowing its true purpose and capabilities, American intelligence agencies frantically tried to obtain as much info as possible about the project. Although KM crashed in 1980, this was of little comfort to the US, as, to the Pentagon’s horror, it became the basis for the Lun-class ekranoplan armed with six enormous, nuclear-capable P-270 “Moskit” supersonic anti-ship missiles. It was only thanks to the unfortunate dismantling of the Soviet Union that these vehicles never entered mass production. However, the Pentagon’s KM obsession remained.

Namely, it recently tasked DARPA with essentially copying the concept, resulting in the “Liberty Lifter” program. The US agency then contracted Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing subsidiary, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to build their versions. The program recently entered Phase 1, with Aurora Flight Sciences selected to build the first prototype, expected to conduct its maiden flight either in late 2027 or early 2028, over 60 years after the Russian KM. For the time being, the Pentagon claims it wants the vehicle to be used for transport, but the possibility of arming it (as was the case with the Russian Lun-class) shouldn’t be entirely excluded. In recent years, there has been some speculation that Moscow might reactivate its dormant ekranoplan projects, which, if true, might be the real reason behind the Pentagon’s desire to finally match the Kremlin in terms of this unique and remarkable technology.

Interestingly, the US military has been unable to counter other Russian technologies, not only strategic ones, such as hypersonic missiles, but even tactical systems, such as coaxial-rotors helicopters. Namely, the Pentagon just announced the cancelation of its (over)ambitious Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, after wasting billions on the project. Launched in 2018, FARA resulted in two competing designs, selected in 2020 – Bell-Textron’s 360 “Invictus” and Sikorsky’s “Raider X”. The latter was essentially an extremely expensive and over-engineered American version of the Russian Ka-52 “Alligator”. Marred with reliability issues and cost overruns, the program was finally deemed “non-essential”. In other words, the US was simply unable to copy Soviet 1980s technologies. Perhaps the best way to illustrate Russia’s conventional military superiority is to quote Colonel Douglas McGregor, who said:

“Russia today is stronger than it has been in 30 or 40 years. You have a Russian military establishment that is now more potent and more capable than the Russian military was in the mid-1980s. You can’t defeat what the Russians have built… …They were the first back in the 1970s to understand the criticality of linking intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance [ISR] in space, as well as on land and at sea with strike weapons.”

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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A recent four-nation trip by United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken was marked by efforts to denigrate China and Russia as development and security partners of the African Union (AU) member states.

Blinken traveled to the Cape Verde Islands, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola from January 21-26.

Despite the public posturing and rhetoric of the State Department, many governments and more importantly the masses of the people have opposed Washington’s foreign policy related to the Ukraine war and the continuing support for Israel as it lays waste to the Gaza Strip.

After two years of sabotaging any attempt to reach a negotiated settlement between Moscow and Kiev, President Joe Biden is demanding more money from U.S. taxpayers to continue arm shipments and other material assistance to Ukraine. The same situation holds true for the Palestinians as the Biden administration pours in military equipment to facilitate the genocidal program in the Gaza Strip.

African Union (AU) Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat has made repeated statements calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

These pleas for peace have been rejected by the U.S. and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). South Africa filed a lawsuit against Tel Aviv in December where it charged the Zionist state with genocide. The second hearing in this case filed at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Netherlands will take place in late February.

Although the Biden White House ridiculed the South African lawsuit against Israel as lacking merit, the case was accepted by the ICJ which ruled in the initial hearing that the charges of genocide against Israel were plausible. A series of measures were recommended by the World Court, yet Tel Aviv has continued its onslaught in Gaza resulting in the deaths of over 28,000, the wounding of thousands more and the displacement of the entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians.

Amid these policy differences with many AU states, Blinken during his trip emphasized a supposed partnership based upon mutual interests. However, the sordid history of African enslavement, colonial and neo-colonial domination by imperialism was never mentioned in the press release issued by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on January 18.

Miller emphasized on behalf of the Biden administration that:

“Throughout the trip, the Secretary will highlight how the United States has accelerated the U.S.-Africa partnership since the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, including in areas such as climate, food, and health security. He will also emphasize our future-focused economic partnership, and how the United States is investing in infrastructure in Africa to boost two-way trade, create jobs at home and on the continent, and help Africa compete in the global marketplace. Additionally, the Secretary will advance security partnerships based on shared values such as respect for human rights, promotion of democracy, and expansion of the rule of law.  He will reaffirm U.S. commitment to our coastal West African partners through the Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, U.S. partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to address regional challenges, and U.S. efforts to support African leadership in de-escalating tensions and adopting diplomatic solutions to the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.” 

Historically much of the trade spoken of by the State Department has been highly disadvantageous to African nations. The notion that bilateral relations with the U.S. is based upon respect for human rights and democracy contradicts the longtime unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of African states.

The presence of Pentagon military outposts and troops on the continent has only worsened the overall security situation. In West Africa, the U.S. has been present in Mali, Guinea, Niger and Burkina Faso through the Africa Command (AFRICOM).

Nonetheless, these states have undergone military coups over the last four years due to the unsustainable neo-colonial system of governance.

Cape Verde and Ivory Coast

Blinken made his first stop in the Cape Verde Islands located approximately 400 miles off the coast of Senegal. Several years ago, the U.S. provided funding for the refurbishing of the port at Praia in which the Secretary of State visited.

Cape Verde port at Praia

Nevertheless, while enroute to meet with high level governmental officials, the top U.S. envoy could have not avoided the presidential palace which has been enhanced and modernized with assistance of the People’s Republic of China. In addition, the Congress Hall and governmental headquarters have new buildings constructed by Beijing. (See this)

After leaving Cape Verde, Blinken stopped over in Ivory Coast, where 12 years before the U.S. in cooperation with France, overthrew the government of former President Laurent Gbagbo who had defied the neo-colonial directives of Paris. After the installation of a pro-western president in Abidjan during 2011, elements within the military remained dissatisfied over the situation inside the country.

However, unlike other regional states, the military was not able to intervene by seizing power from the civilian leadership which is by no means “democratic.” President Alassane Ouattara engineered the change in the Ivorian constitution to allow for him to serve an additional term of office.

Blinken praised Ouattara for the Ivorian government’s stance in opposition to the upheaval and military coup in Niger last July 26. Although the U.S. had initially encouraged an armed intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reimpose the administration of ousted President Mohammad Bazoum, a close ally of Paris and Washington, public opposition across the region resulted in a rethinking of the invasion plans.

Nigeria and Angola

The third country visited by Blinken was Nigeria which has the largest economy on the continent due to its vast oil and natural gas resources. If the invasion of Niger was to occur, it would be Nigeria that supplies the bulk of the troops.

However, even President Bola Tinubu’s party, the All-Progressives Congress (APC), would not go along with the ECOWAS imperialist-engineered intervention in neighboring Niger. The people of northern Nigeria and Niger share languages and economic interests. Nigeria is the current chair of ECOWAS.

Underlining the visits to Ivory Coast and Nigeria is a pledge by the White House to bolster a security pact with several West African states. Al Jazeera said of this project,

“Blinken nonetheless promised to boost cooperation on the ground with the Ivory Coast, largely the training of security forces. He said the US would provide an additional $45m to West African nations as part of a plan to battle instability, bringing total funding under the year-old program to nearly $300m.”

Blinken meets with pro-western President of Ivory Coast

Blinken’s last visit on this tour was to Angola where oil is a major export. Angola also has close economic ties to China.

For the first 18-years of Angolan independence (1975-1993) the U.S. refused to recognize its government. In 1975, on the verge of its independence from Portugal, the U.S. under the administration of President Gerald Ford, deployed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to Angola to assist a rival pro-western armed grouping in preventing the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) from consolidating it power base.

It was the Republic of Cuba and the former Soviet Union which backed the MPLA government in its war against the apartheid South Africa which staged numerous invasions and occupations in Angola. The defeat of the racist South African Defense Forces (SADF) in early 1988 paved the way for the liberation of the Republic of Namibia in 1990 along with the release of political prisoners in South Africa including the first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela.

By April-May 1994, multi-party elections had been held bringing President Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) to power. The ANC has maintained its leading role in government over the last three decades.

A press release issued by the State Department on the Blinken visit discussed the U.S.-Angola relationship as a partnership in trade and security. However, there was no mention of the years-long damage done to Angola by successive administrations in Washington during the post-independence period from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s. 

U.S. Foreign Policy Breeds War and Instability

Since the beginning of the Biden administration in early 2021, there have been a series of disastrous foreign policy developments from the calamitous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the instigation of the special military operation by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, to a series of anti-western popular uprisings in the Sahel states in West Africa and the genocidal siege on Gaza. Since October, the White House has been pushing the Congress to approve yet another $106 billion to feed the war machine in West Asia, the Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe and on the Southern border with Mexico and other Latin American states.

Blinken has been jetting across West Asia and Africa in failed attempts to shore up the image of U.S. imperialism internationally. Nonetheless, with the rising opposition to the AFRICOM presence on the continent to the demands for an immediate end to the blanket bombing and occupation of the Gaza Strip, billions around the globe have nothing other than opprobrium for Washington and Wall Street.

Instead of seeking to enact a permanent ceasefire in Palestine, the White House is spreading the war regionally by bombing Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Resistance forces in West Asia have stated repeatedly that they will continue their attacks on U.S., British and Israeli interests until the current crisis in Palestine is resolved.

In Africa as well, U.S. diplomacy has not achieved any victories. Undoubtedly in years to come, a reconfigured system of international relations will come into being creating the political atmosphere for a sustainable peace and genuine cooperation among peoples.

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Abayomi Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan-African News Wire. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Angola President Joao Lourenco and US Secretary of State / All images in this article are from the author

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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The breakdown of international justice has a high probability and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been controlled unlawfully (!) by the West.

Here is an interview with Professor Mariniello, who has studied the ICC.

The ICC works as a tool of the USA – and the criticism against ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan is devastating:

  • For years, the ICC has publicly had an “investigation” into atrocities committed by Israeli settlers on the West Bank against Palestinians – but, Khan diverted no resources to that “investigation” and he and his people never visited the West Bank. 
  • The amount of resources for Gaza was (or is) only one fifth of what ICC prosecutor Khan spends on investigation Western allegations of Russian “crimes” in Ukraine.
  • The amount of time Mr. Khan’s investigators have spend with Jewish victims of 7 October 2024 is insanely disproportionate to the time Mr. Khan and his investigators have spend with the victims related to the around 30,000 killed civilians in Ghaza.And there are more examples how ICC chief prosecutor Khan is bending and twisting international criminal law to suit US-Israel – and unilaterally target Russia.

Even the whole legal foundation for the two investigations by ICC prosecutor Khan in Ukraine and Palestine is principally different.

In the case of Palestine, the legal foundation is clear: The ICC has admitted and recognized the Palestinian Authority as a state-party to the Rome convention, thus giving the ICC legal authority to investigate crimes committed in Palestine, even when such crimes are committed by Israel, which is not a part of the Rome convention.

In the case of Ukraine, neither Ukraine nor Russia is party to the Rome convention. It is therefore an absurdity and a gross violation of the principle of egality before the law, that the ICC has recognized – without any formal grounds – that the territory of Ukraine should be subject to ICC authority. It is not.

ICC prosecutor Khan’s “investigation” into Russia and his “arrest warrant” against Putin is in violation of the ICC mandate and the whole case brought by Mr. Khan against Russia and Mr. Putin is a phoney cooked-up story – in itself possibly a crime made by the prosecutor. It is absolutely outlandish that the ICC prosecutor mandates the arrest of Russian president Putin without any evidence that Putin was personally involved in anything, and on the flimsy grounds of Russia protecting civilians incl. children in the war zone of Ukraine.

Why Doesn’t the ICC Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu?

Israel’s crimes of genocide and mass murder in Gaza are several magnitudes bigger and better documented than any alleged “crime” committed by Russia in Ukraine. And contrary to any ICC case against Putin, the criminal intent of Israel’s leadership – including the intent of Benjamin Netanyahu to commit genocide – is clearly established in public speech.

By issuing arrest on Putin – and not Netanyahu – the ICC and its prosecutor Khan is committing a gross violation of basic law and principles of equal treatment.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is phony like the ICC. The ICJ president Donoghue conspicuously favored Israel by giving Israel too much time (a whole month) for reporting a post-card on its crimes and by not issuing stricter orders. Obviously, there must have been a lot of international pressure to remove the US judge Donoghue as president of the ICC. That is why the Lebanese judge Salam from February 2024 is appointed new president of the ICJ. Testifying to the continued US abuse of power on the ICJ is that while forced by immense pressure to accept the removal of Donoghue from the presidency of the ICJ, the US instead got appointed Sebutinde as vice-president of the ICJ. Sebutinde is the outlandish judge from Uganda who as the only judge on each and every point ruled even more favorably to Israel and the Israeli judge at the ICJ. 

See this.

Distortion of Justice

In the end, the ICJ and the ICC will themselves be condemned for any lack of capability to prosecute Israel – and for their bias towards Russia. The pressure on ICJ and ICC from the non-western community is immense – unprecedented – and it is therefore a break with the whole Western intention of creating these two institutions as their own puppets that these two institutions are now both forced, not willingly, but forced to take steps against Israel.

Yes, the ICJ and ICC will probably either violate their own laws and that the West will block any execution of the justice. Anyway, that situation will also – in and by itself – removed the disguise if “morality” – of “justice” – of “rules” – behind which the collective West has been hiding itself for centuries.

But anyway, the cases against Israel (and behind Israel USA and the collective West) are still monumental, because they one way or another are bringing a downfall of the West.

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Karsten Riise is a Master of Science (Econ) from Copenhagen Business School and has a university degree in Spanish Culture and Languages from Copenhagen University. He is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Mercedes-Benz in Denmark and Sweden.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.  

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Introduction

In these extraordinary times and in the face of countless doomsday scenarios, it is not easy to get a grip on your personal feelings, organise your thoughts and put them down on paper in generally understandable language.

But the clairvoyant person who has recognised the absurdity of life takes a stand and does not avoid it. Indifference is out of question. He sees himself as the master of his fate and still wants to impose a measure of meaning on this senseless world. He realises that his decision alone can change this life and this world. Like all ghosts, the spectre of absurdity escapes if you have the courage to confront it. 

In order to overcome the strangeness of this world, he tries to create a home for himself in the human community.

Strangeness in This World

As a citizen of the post-war generation, I feel increasingly alienated in today’s world. Ethical and moral values such as empathy and peacefulness no longer apply.

Politicians are nothing more than docile puppets of the digital-financial complex, which poses a much greater threat to people’s freedom and self-determination than the military-industrial complex (Ernst Wolff).

Citizens are not only being lied to or “hoodwinked” about the reduction in the world’s population or the economic problems (deindustrialisation, plant closures, emigration, job cuts). There is also no information about the deadly consequences of COVID vaccinations and once again a worldwide vaccination obligation is recommended and implemented. Anyone who does not (yet) see this negative development or is not aware of the information in the alternative media will soon be taught better.

New major wars are also being planned and loudly and frighteningly announced by the US-NATO and its EU vassals. The usual enemy stereotypes are being activated once again to justify them. Russia will continue to be presented as a dangerous enemy by the entire West after the interview with the Russian president by the US American Tucker Carlson or after the elections in the USA.

If you live in one of these Slavic countries such as Russia or Serbia for a longer period of time, you realise that politically fabricated images of the enemy have nothing to do with reality, but serve a different purpose.

Recognising the absurdity of this world, however, contains within it the invitation to master this absurdity and to turn resolutely towards an existence that only makes sense as a result. The fate of the world depends solely on people. Since there is only this one world, it would be absurd not to affirm it.

Creating a Home in the Human Community

In order to overcome the strangeness in this world, we humans should try to create a home for ourselves in the human community. This home develops over time through sharing in the joys and sufferings of our fellow human beings.

Humans are by nature communal beings. From the impressions of their early childhood, they develop a certain degree of human connection, an interest in others that can be described as a “sense of community”.

In the basic conditions of human coexistence lies a compulsion to understand one another (Alfred Adler). Everyone has the ability to empathise and sympathise. The feelings of others are experienced and understood. Joys and sorrows are shared with the other; people help each other to endure the difficult times of life (Kropotkin).

Depending on their maturity, life experience, self-knowledge and world view, people are able to empathise with others. This creates trust, warmth and security in the other person. 

Of course, this is an arduous process that requires a lot of courage, time and patience, but it is of great importance for the life of every individual. The authoritarian upbringing of recent decades has unfortunately had the effect of deterring us from our fellow human beings from childhood onwards. Only a non-authoritarian, liberal education that refrains from exaggerated authoritarianism, the use of force and indulgence and adapts to the child’s inner life with true understanding will create a humane social order and a dignified future. 

Recognizing That Destiny Depends on Humanity

Ever since humans have existed and we have had knowledge about them, we have known that they always strive for a better life situation; first and foremost for a free life in peace without violence and war. Most people love to go about their daily work or till the fields and live together with their neighbours in peace and friendship. 

But history itself does not strive for freedom and peace through its own laws – virtually over our heads. A free world without violence, without weapons and wars can only be realised by the decision of the people, by thinking and acting in accordance with the ideal of freedom, peace and justice. And this reduction of violence must take place here and now.

Unfortunately, however, the upbringing in our culture creates a fear of other people in children, an emotional reaction that turns against others. When they grow up, they are unable to work and live together with their fellow human beings. They are also unable to organise their own lives well.

For this reason, children should learn from their parents and teachers that there is no need to be afraid of other people, but that others enjoy playing and living with them. Any conflicts that arise can always be resolved in friendship and without any verbal or physical violence. Adults should therefore be non-violent models.

We should also assume that human emotional life is not just the result of the parent-child relationship, but that the socio-cultural milieu and the corresponding feelings are just as decisive, because parents, teachers and educators convey the values of a culture to the child in word and deed on a daily basis.

In this context, it is positive to note that in recent millennia humanity has increasingly heard the voice of humanity’s conscience within itself and is aware that it is important to live together in freedom and brotherhood and to secure life on this earth by fighting together against the forces of nature.

The Obligation Towards the Future Is to Give Everything to the Present

Responsible adults are constantly asking themselves what the older generation can do to ensure a peaceful future and a dignified life for young people.

A sentence by Pindar, which precedes Camus’ essay on the absurd, “The Myth of Sisyphus”, reads:

“Dear soul, do not strive for eternal life, but make the most of what is possible.” (1)

According to the French philosopher-writer and atheist existentialist Albert Camus, the clear-sighted person who knows himself to be the master of his own destiny is committed to the spirit of revolt. The love that previous generations bestowed on a heavenly being is now only directed towards the earth and his fellow human beings. This is his faith, his passion and his future; familiarity with this world is his ultimate goal.

In an interview with the libertarian magazine “Défense de l’homme”, Camus said:

“I am betting on peace. That is my very own optimism. But you have to do something for it and that will be difficult. Therein lies my pessimism.” (2)

For free people, there is no higher goal than the realisation of freedom for all. They give themselves over to the passion of revolt, to this incomprehensible generosity, this strange love. Their pride is not to make any calculations for the future and to waste everything on the present life and the living brothers. This is the real devotion to the people of the future. 

True generosity towards the future consists in giving everything to the present.

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Dr Rudolf Lothar Hänsel is a school rector, educational scientist and qualified psychologist. After his university studies, he became an academic teacher in adult education. As a pensioner, he worked as a psychotherapist in his own practice. In his books and specialist articles, he calls for a conscious ethical and moral education of values as well as an education for public spirit and peace. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Notes

(1) Camus, Albert (1959). The Myth of Sisyphus. Hamburg, p. 7

(2) Marin, Lou (ed.) (2013). Albert Camus – Libertarian Writings (1948-1960). Hamburg, p. 82

Pakistan Elections: Khan vs. the Generals

February 14th, 2024 by Junaid S. Ahmad

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Pakistan’s elections just days ago both lived up to expectations, and did not. What was predicted was the electoral tampering, rigging, and outright fraud that was a central feature of the Pakistani generals’ plan. What was not anticipated was former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, the PTI (‘movement for justice’), capturing the most parliamentary seats of any political party.

Such a miraculous outcome, despite the horrendous levels of repression of the PTI, despite every single attempt by the military establishment to prevent the party from even contesting in the elections – not to mention the aforementioned manipulation of the election results.

The Pakistani military-intelligence apparatus, after its violence and terror campaign against the population following the ousting of Khan from power in April 2022, is the proverbial emperor that has no clothes. They stand manifestly exposed both for their reign of terror, corruption, and fraud, but also for their incompetence in delivering the political results desired by both internal and external power centers.

In many ways, perhaps the most analogous relatively recent event was the victory of Hamas in elections in 2006. The Israelis, the Americans, and the Gulf monarchies wanted to give legitimacy to their chosen occupation sub-contractor, the collaborationist and hopelessly corrupt Palestinian Authority (PA). These forces believed that they had adequately invested the financial and political capital to smoothly enable the PA to win ‘elections under occupation.’ Shock and horror – as well as a violent intervention – by these political actors were what followed the surprise victory of Hamas, despite every effort to marginalize and bury the appeal of this Palestinian resistance movement.

Similarly, the military and political elites in Pakistan had guaranteed themselves and their master-patrons in Washington that these elections in Pakistan were a done deal, a walk in the park. This narrative claimed that the appeal of the PTI had diminished, and any remaining popularity of Khan and his political party would be offset by the investment of tens of millions of dollars to buy off the military high command, politicians in all of the provinces, and crucially, the judges of the provincial high courts, as well as the Supreme Court itself.

The generals said they had plans B, and if needed, C, in case plan A did not work.

Plan A was the simple ousting of Khan from power in April 2022. It was thought this move would simply eradicate the ‘Khan virus.’

To the surprise of many, including Khan himself, a massive, unprecedented outpouring of support, with rallies taking place across cities and towns, erupted spontaneously in every province of the country.

But that was fine, and military elites began the charge sheet against Khan to get him embroiled in one court case after the next – plan B.

That failed to work, and Khan’s popularity continued to soar. Incessant reassurances were meted out from former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Bajwa to Washington and the House of Sharif, the family in control of one of the two dominant dynastic political parties, the PML(N).

Gen. Bajwa claimed that the situation is under control and that his successor, COAS Gen. Asim Munir, would finish the job. Bajwa was lucky. All he agreed to was removing Khan from power, and he delivered. Though Gen. Bajwa also became detested, his safety valve was his exit from the political scene after a few months. Asim Munir was not so fortunate.

Plan C needed to be activated.

Public sentiment was turning so antagonistic towards the military top brass for their unashamed targeting of Khan that the ‘final solution’ needed to be implemented: assassination.

Two of those attempts, one of which injured Khan in the shin, proved fruitless as well.

There really was no plan D, and so one was quickly concocted: charge Khan with the most absurd but very serious charges: terrorism, treason, etc., and imprison him in complete isolation.

Charge him with leaking state secrets over the now infamous ‘cypher-gate’ – the accusation that Khan recklessly spoke of a top secret diplomatic cable sent to the Foreign Ministry by Pakistan’s ambassador to the US. It stated, in no uncertain terms, Washington’s desire that Khan be removed from power. Both the military elite as well as, sadly, a good chunk of the intellectual class, mocked Khan (and his supporters) for over a year for being conspiratorial and inventing this ostensibly fictional ‘cypher.’

Only when the American online publication, The Intercept, confirmed the veracity of the contents – as Khan had described – of the diplomatic cable, did Gen. Munir and other senior personnel in the armed forces not only concede that such a cypher does exist, but that Khan would now face charges of treason for revealing its contents. Supposedly, this leak by the former prime minister constituted a grave threat to ‘national security.’ In reality, it presented a palpable unmasking of the collusion of the American foreign policy establishment, Pakistani generals, and Pakistani kleptocrats of the two major political parties, one of the House of Sharif and the other the House of Bhutto-Zardari – in deposing Khan from power.

Once the hastily assembled plan D was put in motion, the idea was that it would seamlessly lead to the final plan E, that of ruthless repression of the PTI, so that by the time of elections in February 2024, there will be no sign remaining of Khan and his party.

What the election results of last week have shown – despite the fact that Khan’s party members could not even run on their party ticket and had to run as independents – is the ongoing popular support for PTI.

There doesn’t seem to be a plan F, considering the frantic responses of the army chief and the head of the intelligence agencies, or the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). COAS Gen. Munir is no longer concerned with his big picture ‘obligations.’ He has been reduced to being merely interested in saving himself. The only party that he is trying to somehow please at this point is the one footing the bill – the House of Sharif.

All of this has led to Gen. Munir perhaps being the most hated COAS in the nation’s history. And that’s not because of a shortage of competition.

How about Washington planners? How are they reacting?

As one senior State Department official very bluntly commented:

“These imbeciles can’t even crush a political novice like Khan. They command one of the largest armed forces in the world, nuclear armed. What is all that for?”

The American foreign policy establishment, after the ouster of Khan, had outsourced the job of managing the old ‘Af-Pak’ theatre of the ‘Global War on Terror’ to the Pentagon.

Washington believed its old Cold War framework of dealing with the generals will produce a ‘stable’ and pliant Pakistan. There is no entity as irate at the incompetence of the Pakistani military high command as the US Department of Defense – to which both Gen. Bajwa and Gen. Munir promised the moon. Actually, State Department officials are equally incensed since they were tasked to prevaricate for almost two years to conceal Washington’s role, as well as that of Pakistani generals, in this entire scenario.

The State Department denied any knowledge of the cypher. That began to change after the Intercept’s publication of the contents of that diplomatic cable. At that point, it was not so much about asserting the non-existence of the cypher, but underscoring how such communication between two governments was nothing abnormal. Washington was willing to give Islamabad a few more months to fix everything by holding (s)elections that would quash Khan and his party once and for all.

And now, it seems clear that the American foreign policy establishment is in a state of vengeance, keen on punishing the generals who promised to engender a Pakistani political dispensation unashamedly docile and subservient. This is why there’s been an explosion of harsh criticisms – from the State Department to numerous members of Congress – of the Pakistani military’s interference in these elections.

Undoubtedly, there were members of Congress, such as Rep. Ilhan Omar, who wanted to express their displeasure much earlier. But they also acquiesced to their Democratic Party leadership in the White house and in Congress – who hung on by a thread to the idea that ‘stability’ will be brought soon by the traditional political and military elites. The White House unceasingly maintained that ‘our guys’ in Islamabad will facilitate a smooth and relatively quiet transition to the post-Khan period, without raising any international alarm bells.

Of course, now, it’s become patently obvious that Washington is radically revising its stance, one that effectively states to Pakistan’s generals: you had your chance, you failed, and now you’re making things worse. The American 180 turnaround in its position is an attempt to salvage some respect, or at least some tolerance, from the people of Pakistan that know full well Washington’s role in the ‘original sin’ of the regime change operation. The generals have put Washington in a deeply embarrassing situation.

However, Washington apparatchiks may be unfair in their treatment of their client men in khaki in Pakistan. The former do not realize that it’s the political has-beens that the generals can control, not the newbies like Khan. The old political bigwigs know the rules of the game – proper balance between the enrichment of both the political and military elites – and abide by it. The new kids on the block are too recalcitrant to even properly learn those rules, let alone comply with them.

In sum, Washington now considers Gen. Munir a dreadful liability, only after his first year as COAS. Gen. Pervez Musharraf, on the other hand, provided Washington ‘stability in Pakistan’ for 8 years until he also became a liability in 2007.

In this entire saga, what’s truly been disappointing is the role of Pakistani media. The country’s leading and, deservedly, most well-respected periodical, Dawn, suddenly begins to churn out columns praising the democratic “defiance” of the people in these elections. It’s a shame that the people’s defiance was not covered over the past twenty months, when apparently it was simply an expression of a cult-following, and the totalitarian and conspicuously undemocratic repression was not worth reporting. The resistance of the Pakistani people could have certainly benefited from some coverage then. Now, such voices in the media are commonplace. It’s rather sad how Pakistani media seems to be taking its cues from the US State Department – when to cover/report, and when not to. DAWN columnists had many months to praise the democratic will of the people, but did not.

At this point, the divisions within the military officer corps have become evident. Gen. Munir and others in the top brass realize how dangerous it is to give the wrong orders to junior officers and soldiers. How many times will the Pakistani armed forces be commanded to open fire, imprison, torture, and disappear their population on a mass scale? The crimes of the military establishment in the provinces of Balochistan and KPK have been bad enough.

For almost two years now, the brutal suppression of the military establishment was meant to instill paralyzing trepidation in the population. But just as the people of Gaza, of Palestine, of West Asia, have overcome a psychological sense of fear of Israel, so too have the people of Pakistan. Pakistanis have increasingly lost fear of their national security state and its violent shenanigans. This is a major development.

Whatever political configuration emerges after these elections, one thing is for certain: this round has been a resounding victory for former Prime Minister Imran Khan, smiling from his wretched jail cell, as well as the people of Pakistan, regardless of their political affiliation.

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Prof. Junaid S. Ahmad teaches Religion, Law, and Global Politics and is the Director of the Center for the Study of Islam and Decoloniality, Islamabad, Pakistan. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

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Arkansas Nurse Geri Gatison Stuart tragically lost both husband and son within a month.

Jan. 2023 – Texarkana, Arkansas – Registered Nurse Geri Gatison Stuart married her best friend in January 2023.

 

Dec. 6, 2023 – Geri’s husband Steve Stuart, passed away of a “cardiac event” while on vacation in the Bahamas (on a cruise) on December 6, 2023. “Geri and Steve were married in January of this year and were enjoying an early first anniversary cruise which was spoiled by his death.”

 

 

Jan. 10, 2024 – Geri’s oldest son, 31 year old Lee Maxfield died suddenly. “It was a brief (one week) sudden illness. Within one month nurse Geri lost both her husband and her son.

Dec. 2, 2023 – Cherrybrook, NSW, Australia – 36 year old neonatal ICU nurse Amy Barker and her unborn boy Marcus both died suddenly and unexpectedly. Family has no answers.

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Oct. 25, 2023 – Brockton, MA – US Navy Veteran Richard Ledoux died unexpectedly on Oct. 25, 2023. His wife is a nurse who rushed to get COVID-19 mRNA Vaccinated.

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Oct. 12, 2023 – Waxahachie, TX – 16 year old Hayden Jones died unexpectedly on Oct. 12, 2023. His mom is a nurse and dad is a firefighter.

Sep. 30, 2023 – TX – 15 year old Ty Stevens has a mom nurse (vaxxed). He had a cardiac arrest at home on Sep. 30, 2023 and flatlined, but was revived by EMS/Firefighters…his MRI is normal.

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Aug. 29, 2023 – Temple Hill, KY – Nurse Velvet Scott died suddenly on Aug. 29, 2023. She rushed to get her 1st COVID-19 Vaccine on Dec. 23, 2020. Her brother died a few moths prior and her other brother just had surgery for prostate cancer. Three siblings, two dead, one with cancer within a few months.

June 2023 – Swift Current SK – Ashlyn Paul is a nurse who runs COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Her 5 year old daughter Rustyn was just diagnosed with an aggressive T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with a “large tumor in her mediastinum.”

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March 12, 2023 – Raleigh, NC – 17 year old cheerleader Keianna Joe, had a cardiac arrest & died briefly during a competition warm-up. She was saved by her nurse mother with CPR & a defibrillator.

Feb. 10, 2023 – Hamburg, NY – Kelly Englert is a nurse who was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer 3 years ago that has recently spread to her brain. Her daughter Kaitland was just diagnosed with recurrence of her brain tumor which has “mutated into an aggressive form and is a Grade 4 Glioma”. Both have simultaneous CANCER RECURRENCES into more aggressive forms! (Click here)

St. Cloud Florida – Patrick Kelly (age 20) died April 18, 2022 and his mother, a nurse, Francesca Kelly (age 50) died Feb. 5, 2023. Mother believed her son died from the COVID-19 vaccine (click here).

Jan. 25, 2023 – Ohio – 6 yo Anastasia Marie Weaver died suddenly in her sleep after 2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccines on Jan. 25, 2023 (mom is a nurse) Jan. 2022: “my girls had no side effects from 2nd shot”. Jul. 2022: “still having seizures” Sep. 2022: COVID-19 Jan. 25, 2023: died.

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My Take…

In the past, it was considered to be a benefit, to have a nurse or a doctor in the household.

That changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vast majority of COVID-19 mRNA vaccinated doctors and nurses pushed the jabs on their own family members, to their detriment.

I have reported 100s of vaxxed nurses dying suddenly or developing late stage Turbo Cancers. 

This article gives an unprecedented look at how some of their family members are doing.

The children who have a COVID-19 mRNA Vaccinated nurse parent, are NOT doing well.

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Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.

Featured image is from COVID Intel


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

Reviews

This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon

In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia

In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig 

Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac

A reading of  Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late.  You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

We encourage you to support the eBook project by making a donation through Global Research’s DonorBox “Worldwide Corona Crisis” Campaign Page

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

***

World Economic Forum’s chairman Klaus Schwab recently said at World Governments Summit in Dubai that we should avoid a technocratic bureaucracy and instead create a “humanocracy”. A world where technology is used to create a “better world” with the help from “technicians, philosophers and humanists”. Klaus now seems to view himself as a benevolent humanist.

So how will his “human society” look like? During the subsequent conversation with the chairman of the WGS, Mohammad Al Gergawi, Schwab said:

And finally I think we have to be prepared for a world where we see a fusion of our physical, our digital and our biological dimensions.

This attempt to rebrand his techno-futurist cult into a “humanocracy” can only be described as pathetic.

One of the chapters in his manual for large scale transformation of humanity and the earth system, Shaping the Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has the revealing title “Altering the Human”. It seems that Klaus just happened to forget to add “trans” before “humanist”.

I say his visions for the future more resemble a Robotocracy. With a humanity transformed into cyborgs, guided and monitored by the “All-seeing Eye” (AI).

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Opposing the COVID Juggernaut with Rational Medical Thinking. Dr. Peter Canaday

By Dr. Emanuel Garcia, February 13, 2024

When the covid tsunami hit the shores of New Zealand, thereby fostering a slew of drastic measures based on limitless fear and breathtakingly absent science, Dr. Peter Canaday did what good doctors are meant to do: he thought, he questioned, he amassed evidence, he insisted on basic foundational principles of Medicine, and he brought his concerns to the public.

Israel’s Rafah Ground Invasion – Zionist War Against Islam Is About to Explode

By Joachim Hagopian, February 13, 2024

Simultaneously accompanied by IDF airstrikes, offshore IDF ship launched assaults and IDF artillery attacks from inside Israel, an IDF special forces operation launched an incursion in Rafah during the early morning hours Monday local time to rescue two Israeli hostages in Rafah, with initial reports stating 37 Palestinians were killed.

Why Did Ukraine Open Its Doors to North Atlantic Treaty Organization?

By Kester Kenn Klomegah, February 13, 2024

In his speech at the Russian Federation Security Council at the Kremlin on February 21, 2022, Putin made it clear the long-standing confrontation between the Kiev officials and the people living on Eastern territory, the republics of Donbass, Donetsk and Lugansk. People in these republics were been attacked, deprived of basic amenities and their basic human rights violated.

Commander in Chief Zaluzhny Out of Office, Could be a Threat to Zelensky

By Lucas Leiroz de Almeida, February 13, 2024

Valery Zaluzhny left his post as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces on February 8, being replaced by Aleksandr Syrsky. At first, the change seemed to be a kind of “victory” for Zelensky in the disputes against Zaluzhny. However, analyzing the case in depth, it is possible to conclude that the Ukrainian president remains under strong threat.

EU Foreign Policy Chief to World Leaders: ‘Stop Saying Please’ and Cut Off Arms to Israel

By Jake Johnson, February 13, 2024

The European Union’s top foreign policy official said Monday that the Biden administration and other governments professing concern about the grisly death toll in the Gaza Strip should stop supplying so much weaponry to the Israeli military as it carries out one of the most devastating bombing campaigns in modern history.

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Has Escalated Premeditated Murder Against Palestinians

By Jordan News, February 13, 2024

On Sunday, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have escalated its premeditated murders, extrajudicial executions, and judicial killings against Palestinian civilians through direct targeting with snipers and drones in various regions of the Gaza Strip.

Feathery Infiltrators: The Case of the Pigeon Spy

By Dr. Binoy Kampmark, February 13, 2024

Of all the animals featured in the intelligence inventory, one stands out. The pigeon featured heavily in both World Wars, an inconspicuous, small creature ideal in performing various tasks. Messages can be delivered surreptitiously in conditions of disrupted communications.

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

***

Yes, and this is exactly what we are witnessing today. It means that the chief oppressors of humanity are not about to claim victory in their lust for world domination, but are in fact heading for a crash and are blindly living out their final days.

Their madness is already on view to anyone who follows the antics of the despotic globalist regime so brazenly flaunting its self contrived stardom. It’s not a pretty sight.

Drunk on power and super inflated egos, these less than human humans stand as high as they can on  the world stage to project their pompous profiles – only to reveal their true colours as obsessed psychotic war mongers caught in the web of their own morbid megalomania.

However these architects of central control are not alone in being sentenced to an inglorious end. The madness bestowed by the gods also falls on those passive couch potatoes who ‘look on and do nothing’, burying their heads in the sand so as to avoid having to stand up against the rank injustices that stare them in the face.

Then a similar madness creeps up on those who turn away from anything which disturbs their ‘faux spiritual’ retreat into a world of passive inner contemplation. The gods do not smile on such misuses of genuine spiritual disciplines adopted by true aspirants striving to evolve into conscious, active and responsible human beings.

There is no route to a higher calling which does not incorporate service to humanity and confronting injustice. To turn away from such basic responsibility is a form of soul suicide – brought about in the mistaken belief that by shirking a natural humanitarian responsiveness towards the collective welfare of mankind one can remain ‘undisturbed’ in moving up some invisible stairway to heaven.

Then there are those ‘apologist’ professional men and women whose all consuming ambitions lead them to unquestioningly play by the rules of the game, trampling on others in order to make it to the top.

Do the gods smile upon such cowardly behaviour? No, they will increasingly cause such individuals to suffer the inevitable pain that results from going against their better conscience, of being complicit in the cause of evil.

Such people will, unless they change their ways, also be subject to a creeping state of madness. One that corrodes away the natural sympathetic qualities that keep mankind responsible, humane and sane.

What about those who accumulate disproportionately high levels of personal wealth and use the great majority of it to feather their nests and further bolster their sense of self importance over others less financially secure?

What view do the gods take about those harbouring obsessions of material gain?

They cause such people to feel increasingly insecure; increasingly afraid of losing the velvet padded ease of their sumptuous life styles. Cut off from the world of real people, real emotions and real human affection. 

Perhaps such bloated examples of excess cause the gods to pass a message across their field of vision, such as “It is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.”

How tormented such mindless millionaires become by not being able to completely dispel the poignancy of such a message. How empty they feel inside, in spite of all their exterior wealth. How easily they get irritated by small things or any challenges to the worthiness of their indulgences.

Yes, an ongoing form of madness awaits those who who try to deny that their greed is in any way responsible for fanning the flames of social depravation, jealously and ultimately war.

The human race, is spite of what sometimes appears to be the opposite, is evolving. Evolving from crude to subtle; from brutish to sensitive. This process cannot be stopped, only delayed.

We are entering a time when the contrast between the light and dark side of mankind becomes increasingly stark; increasingly recognisable. 

So you might think that church/religious leaders would be open receptacles for such rising spirit energies, finding the courage to speak-out loudly about blatant acts of destruction on this planet. 

For example, about the horrific evils being perpetrated on the people of Gaza; the vile persuasions of high ranking paedophiles; child molesters and traffickers for profit. The two faced politicians heading for the Masonic Temples in the Halls of Westminster. The producers and distributors of Covid bio weapon jabs. The overall pandemic of deception and lying of the big corporate bankers and news media chiefs; of government ministers and CEO’s of hegemonic global institutions – those who take it upon themselves to claim the authority to control every aspect of other people’s lives. 

Of course the list goes on and on and on…but do the ‘holy men’ of the Judeo-Christian tradition – or any other ‘faith’ for that matter – step forward to put a stop to such mass degradation of the moral, ethical and spiritual values of our world?

Certainly not. With a few rare exceptions, they hide away in their vestries and synagogues and turn their heads from taking any kind of responsibility for the world outside – or from displaying the courage to practice as they preach.

The gods respond by publicly revealing these representatives of religious dogma to be fakes, parodies of virtue completely lacking any genuine spiritual convictions. Their particular variety of holy madness comes from suffering the indignity of being exposed as plagiarisers of the teachings of genuine spiritual masters while claiming the protection of their ‘holy church’ and of the State. 

Such protection is generally granted, providing the bishops, priests and clergymen keep their side of the deal ‘not to get involved in politics’.

So now that we have dispensed with any lingering attachment to institutions falsely claiming to represent the will of God, we can turn our attention to the real issue: discovering in ourselves and encouraging manifestation of the true expression of our existence as reflections of an omnipotent and omniscient Creator.

This is the only way of gaining sufficient inner resilience to rise above the essentially cowardly manipulators of manufactured darkness – and to finally overturn them.

Going head to head with the villains running this planet should not be a frightening prospect. On the contrary, it should be seen as a challenge to be fully embraced, coupled with a determination to develop one’s latent powers to become a spiritual warrior fully supported by the highest universal forces.

We have arrived at that point now, and there is nowhere else to go – nothing else left to do – other than enter into an honest confrontation with those who so cunningly vampire humanity’s God given powers.

Now we must finally break-out of the spell binding artifice of mass indoctrination that has been allowed to suffocate our fundamental freedoms, in exchange for the generally feckless adoption of an AI/IT ‘culture of convenience’. A spineless, superficial cul-de-sac of life which in turn opens a door to the techno-insanity of the Transhuman agenda.

No more! There is, at this very moment, a great ‘call to arms’ ringing out across the length and breadth of the planet. Respond to it we must. Rise up in unity we will. 

Have no doubt that an extraordinary reversal of fortunes lies ahead. A gathering storm that will sweep aside all that which so desperately attempts to thwart the rising tide of human emancipation.

Human emancipation cannot be thwarted. A pulsating new dawn is gathering together its scattered radiances at this very moment. Who would not want to be party to paving the way for its dramatic appearance over the Eastern horizon?

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Julian Rose is an organic farmer, writer, broadcaster and international activist. He is author of four books of which the latest ‘Overcoming the Robotic Mind’ is a clarion call to resist the despotic New World Order takeover of our lives. Do visit his website for further information www.julianrose.info 

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Big Tech’s Effort to Silence Truth-tellers: Global Research Online Referral Campaign

***

The deadliest ever Israeli bombardment by land, sea and air on Rafah, Gaza Strip’s southernmost border city, took place while America was sidetracked with Superbowl Sunday festivities. On Sunday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went on ABC News “This Week” to announce:

Victory is within reach. We’re going to do it. We’re going to get the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, which is the last bastion, but we’re going to do it.

Then overnight on Monday February 12th, anywhere from over 100 to 164 Palestinians were reportedly murdered by Israeli attacks. International alarm and condemnation of the Israeli hardline government is growing by the day.

Simultaneously accompanied by IDF airstrikes, offshore IDF ship launched assaults and IDF artillery attacks from inside Israel, an IDF special forces operation launched an incursion in Rafah during the early morning hours Monday local time to rescue two Israeli hostages in Rafah, with initial reports stating 37 Palestinians were killed. At the same time Israeli tanks, armored personnel carriers and armored engineering vehicles are moving further into Gaza’s next kill zone Rafah.

Al Jazeera’s contributing journalist Ahmed Abdullah Mohsen as an eyewitness in Rafah reported:

The screaming and wailing nearly drowned out the warplanes that covered the sky, dropping barrages in a fiery belt that crushed the bodies of the displaced in their tents. About 20 minutes of explosions lit the night like something from an artificial Hollywood film.

While Biden and Blinken have “strongly advised” Netanyahu to tone down civilian Palestinian deaths and most recently not initiate Bibi’s IDF ground invasion into Rafah, according to several unnamed sources quoted by NBC News on February 12th, on at least three occasions Biden called Netanyahu “an asshole,” venting his mounting frustration towards Bibi the Butcher, undoubtedly wrecking Biden’s reelection campaign.

Last Thursday even prior to the Rafah blitzkrieg, Biden went public saying Israel’s latest actions are “over the top.” His bid to stay in the White House already was dealt a lethal blow last week when special counsel Robert Hur’s report leaked Biden too mentally incompetent to stand trial for willfully retaining illegal classified documents. Essentially, Biden has been thrown under the bus by the same Deep State that installed him as Imposter-in-Thief. Using the Texas State Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s phraseology posted last Friday on X:

I’ve said for over a year many times that Joe Biden would not be on the ticket and Michelle Obama would be the likely nominee. It’s clear the Democrat deep state run by Barack Obama knew they had to take him down to give them a chance in November.

Warmongering Washington now finds itself helplessly floundering, standing up for “Israel’s right to defend itself no matter what,” stuck in a downward freefall spiral paralleling its same humiliating, disastrous policy standing up for the Ukraine debacle. Quite a few pay grades higher than Obama sits the City of London atop this Deep State food chain, throwing the US and entire West under the bus.

For months Israel issued directives to Palestinian residents living in north and central Gaza to flee their homes seeking shelter in south Gaza, where now up to 1.5 million of Gaza’s total 2.3 million Palestinians are now refugees, helplessly trapped in Rafah as defenseless sitting duck targets in the IDF crosshairs.

The Jewish State’s coldblooded game plan all along has been to force Palestinians to run for their lives south out of Gaza, and in the end, exiled to Egypt’s Sinai Desert. Yet Egypt has emphatically warned Israel against this sinister ethnic purge as totally unacceptable, driving Palestinians from their ancient Gaza homeland into Egypt.

Now, with no place for Palestinians to safely shelter in place, Israel is fast preparing to launch its major offensive into Rafah right at Egypt’s border to flood desperate refugees completely out of Gaza. In one fell swoop for decades, Israel has awaited this outcome as its “final solution” to its “Palestinian problem,” free to then steal their vast gas and oil reserves and build a Gaza canal shortcutting Egypt’s Suez Canal.

The peace treaty that Egypt and Israel signed 45 years ago today is in total jeopardy in near shreds.

The Cairo government warned Netanyahu if IDF ground forces invade Rafah as clear violation of its peace agreement with Egypt, rendering it null and void, it risks opening up yet another warfront at Israel’s southern border, after almost a half century of peace with its Arab neighbor.

Also, Egypt has been suffering economically from this Gaza war with its plummeting Suez Canal revenue down by a whopping 30%. Hence, Egypt is warning Israel of “grave consequences,” further echoed by regional Islamic powers Iran’s “severe consequences” and Saudi Arabia’s “very serious repercussions.”

The stakes are growing higher each passing day as Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border has stepped up its campaign from southern Lebanon against genocidal Israel while Houthi drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea target US naval warships as well as commercial cargo vessels continue unabated. This Middle East powder keg is ready to burst into full-scale war between Israel and its genocidal accomplice the US, dragged into fighting yet another Greater Israel Project war that has all the earmarks for Armageddon. Israel continues to defy all warnings from the US, UN and the International Criminal Court. With the united Arab Islamic world’s strengthening strategic alliance with Russia and China, and its nonstop warnings and threats to Israel all unheeded, by the day the ominous risk of these deeply disturbing developments is growing exponentially.

As world pariahs Israel and US alienate themselves before the entire planet, digging their irreversible grave, lined up on the wrong side of history, they’ve been perpetrating genocide in Gaza for four straight months. Arab nations showing remarkable restraint not to react to their provocations to widen the regional conflict, have been increasingly vocal in their unified disapproval. But with hostilities growing at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, now at the southern border with Egypt, and the northeastern border with Syria, the Islamic world is preparing a contingency plan ultimately to crush Israel if genocide continues unchanged. Knowing without war his political life is terminally over, Bibi the Butcher has repeatedly rejected all ceasefire proposals and demands. Meanwhile, the US without an exit strategy, has feebly allowed itself to be dragged deeper into a quagmire, daily growing into a wider regional conflict.

On Sunday Netanyahu illogically claimed “enough” of the 132 remaining Israeli hostages still alive more than justify continuing the war.

In response, a Hamas leader said if Israel launches its intended ground invasion in Rafah, it would “blow up” all hostage exchange negotiation.

Despite repeated warnings against the Rafah invasion, Netanyahu instructed his IDF and security forces to come up with a plan to evacuate over one million Palestinian refugees in Rafah to pave the way for Israel’s ground offensive, ostensibly to destroy four well-fortified Hamas battalions entrenched in the city. With the situation growing tenser by the day, also on Sunday, Egypt spoke of “dire consequences” for Israel if Bibi orders his assault on Rafah. The Egyptian foreign ministry stated:

Egypt called for the necessity of uniting all international and regional efforts to prevent the targeting of the Palestinian city of Rafah.

It’s becoming ever-so dangerously clearer, when IDF inevitably does fully invade Rafah, the Arab world is bound to finally strike back and at that pivotal moment World War III will likely be officially activated.

Meanwhile last Friday February 9th, Syrian air defense systems shot down Israeli drones and missiles outside of Damascus fired from Israel’s illegally occupied Golan Heights. Attacks by Hezbollah militants in both Syria and Iraq have steadily increased since the Gaza war began, resulting in the recent proliferation of retaliatory US, UK and Israel strikes against Islamic Resistance groups throughout the region, especially this month with US aerial attacks targeting scores of Iran army and proxy Resistance targets. In response to US-Israel latest strikes, last weekend Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian traveled to Lebanon and Syria to discuss the stepped up aggression by Israel and United States, on Sunday meeting in Damascus with both Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and his Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. While al-Assad stressed the more the US sends weapons to Israel, the wider the regional conflict is growing (following the same failed US weapons to Ukraine). Bottomline, all this increasing global conflict is the direct result of Western puppets obediently carrying out Rothschild City of London orders. Syrian FM Mekdad stated:

Syria has fought wars against the Israeli occupation, and is ready to fight wars, but it will decide when and how. [Ending Israel’s Golan Heights occupation remains] at the top of our priorities. Syria is ready to pay the price for all these liberation operations.

The top Syrian diplomat added that the unwelcomed US and Turkish military presence in Syria is also an “illegitimate” violation of Syria’s national sovereignty, and like Iraq, also is demanding immediate removal, specifically the United States from its theft in the Conoco Oil Fields and Turkey from Kurdistan and northeastern Syria. Plus, until the 1967 Arab-Israeli Seven Day War, the Golan Heights was always part of southwestern Syria and the ongoing Jewish settler expansion in that long-disputed territory is still rightfully claimed by Syria near six decades later.

The entire Arab Muslim world has been coalescing as a unified front, busily joining the BRICS alliance, while behind the scenes, in self-defense is likely preparing an inevitable, massive Islamic military counterattack against Israel from every direction to ultimately stop the endless Zionist beast from any further aggressive expansion. With a significantly weakened US no longer Israel’s unipolar kingpin protector, the Muslim world by conventional military means is in strategic position realizing it can defeat the Jewish State once and for all, launching a coordinated multi-pronged offensive from multiple directions at once. Israel would be overwhelmed and destined to lose this upcoming war, and perhaps as Kissinger predicted, Israel would no longer exist as a nation. However, Israel never hesitates to evoke the maniacal threat of its infamous Sampson option, unloading its nuclear arsenal on any perceived foes or friends alike. And with both Iran and Pakistan also nuclear powers, this slippery slope of mutual destruction could instantly slip out of hand against all of humanity.

At this late stage, what appears imminently inevitable is the much larger Islam versus Zionist conflict, just as US Freemason Albert Pike predicted in detail this coming World War III 153 years ago.

The entire world is now in grave peril with this impending conflict seemingly about to erupt.

While Americans are too busy watching the Superbowl and the Swift-Kelce psyops to notice, the global masses are also failing to grasp the dire gravity of this present highly explosive situation. As I keep saying, the shit is about to hit the fan on planet earth and there will be no turning back history from all the ensuing destruction likely to come. Luciferian controllers will celebrate this massive bloodletting sacrifice as their human cleansing, confident they can emerge from the other side and gain absolute dystopian control over what life is left.

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This article was originally published on The Government Rag.

Joachim Hagopian is a West Point graduate, former Army officer and author of “Don’t Let the Bastards Getcha Down” exposing a faulty US military leadership system based on ticket punching up the seniority ladder, invariably weeding out the best and brightest, leaving mediocrity and order followers rising to the top as politician-bureaucrat generals designated to lose every modern US war by elite design. After the military, Joachim earned a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and worked as a licensed therapist in the mental health field with abused youth and adolescents for more than a quarter century. In Los Angeles he found himself battling the largest county child protective services in the nation within America’s thoroughly broken and corrupt child welfare system.

The experience in both the military and child welfare system prepared him well as a researcher and independent journalist, exposing the evils of Big Pharma and how the Rockefeller controlled medical and psychiatric system inflict more harm than good, case in point, the pandemic hoax and kill shot genocide. As an independent journalist for the last decade, Joachim has written hundreds of articles for many news sites, including Global Researchlewrockwell.com and currently https//jameshfetzer.orgInteldrop.org and  https://thegovernmentrag.com. As a published author of a 5-book volume series entitled Pedophilia & Empire: Satan, Sodomy & the Deep State, Joachim’s books and chapters are Amazon bestsellers in child advocacy and human rights categories. His A-Z sourcebook series fully document and expose the global pedophilia scourge and remain available free at https://pedoempire.org/contents/. Joachim also hosts the weekly Revolution Radio broadcast “Cabal Empire Exposed” on Friday morning at 7AM EST (ID: revradio, password: rocks!).

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Why Did Ukraine Open Its Doors to North Atlantic Treaty Organization?

February 13th, 2024 by Kester Kenn Klomegah

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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin surprised the world on February 24, 2022 by unreservedly launching a full-scale ‘special military operation’ in the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine which attained its independence after the sudden collapse of the Soviet era. It has maintained its independence ever since. By this historical collapse, Ukraine and all other republics including Russia have the legitimate right to their territorial integrity and sovereignty. Historically, Ukraine was only part of the Soviet Union which collapsed in December 1991.

In his speech at the Russian Federation Security Council at the Kremlin on February 21, 2022, Putin made it clear the long-standing confrontation between the Kiev officials and the people living on Eastern territory, the republics of Donbass, Donetsk and Lugansk. People in these republics were been attacked, deprived of basic amenities and their basic human rights violated. Based on those unfolding developments, and worse, the package of measures included in the Minsk Agreements would not get implemented.

Then the transcript of Putin’s speech, announcing ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine on February 24, established the position it was strictly in “accordance with Article 51, part seven of the UN Charter, with the approval of the Federation Council of Russia and pursuant to the Federal Assembly, on February 22, Russia ratified treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic.”

Putin was very emphatic with his words and phrases.

“I made a decision to conduct a special military operation. Its goal is to protect people who have been abused by the genocide of the Kyiv regime for eight years. And to this end, strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as bringing to justice those who committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including citizens of the Russian Federation.”

But Putin invincibly stressed, at the same time, that the plan was not to occupy Ukraine. He said

“Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force. At the same time, we hear more often lately from the West that documents signed by the Soviet totalitarian regime that fixed the results of the Second World War should not be implemented.”

The results of the Second World War, as well as the sacrifices made by our people on the altar of the victory of Nazism are sacred, but this does not contradict the high values of human rights and freedoms based on the realities that have developed during all post-war decades, according to Putin’s interpretation.

That however, in another address on the day of ‘special military operation’ Putin explained that NATO’s eastward expansion the situation for Russia has been becoming worse and more dangerous by the year. Moreover, NATO leadership has been blunt in its statements that they needed to accelerate and step up efforts to bring the alliance’s infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders. In other words, they have been toughening their position.

“We cannot stay idle and passively observe these developments. This would be an absolutely irresponsible thing to do for us. Any further expansion of the North Atlantic alliance’s infrastructure or the ongoing efforts to gain a military foothold of the Ukrainian territory are unacceptable for us. For the United States and its allies, it is a policy of containing Russia, with obvious geopolitical dividends,” he pointed out in that address to the natin and the world.

Therefore in a context, the purpose of this operation is to protect people who have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kiev regime. To that end, Russia seeks to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, as well as bring to trial those who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including against citizens of the Russian Federation.

“It is not our plan to occupy the Ukrainian territory. We do not intend to impose anything on anyone by force. At the same time, we have been hearing an increasing number of statements coming from the West that there is no need any more to abide by the documents setting forth the outcomes of World War II, as signed by the totalitarian Soviet regime. How can we respond to that?” he asked rhetorically.

The outcomes of World War II and the sacrifices Russian people had to make to defeat Nazism are sacred. This does not contradict the high values of human rights and freedoms in the reality that emerged over the post-war decades. This does not mean that nations cannot enjoy the right to self-determination, which is enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter.

Russia is constantly reclaiming its territories. Crimea and Sevastopol were taken over by Russia. Over these years, Putin has also attempted to explain that back in 2014, Russia was obliged to protect the people of Crimea and Sevastopol. The people of Crimea and Sevastopol made their choice in favour of being with their historical homeland, Russia.

Putin did not miss words by indicating clearly that the current events have nothing to do with a desire to infringe on the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. They are connected with the defending Russia from those who have taken Ukraine hostage and are trying to use it against Russia and Russian people. That is why, however hard this may be, Russian military understands to work together, to turn the tragic page without allowing anyone to interfere in the internal affairs and fighting for the common future. In other words, Russia plays the ability to quickly adapt to constant change, maintain social cohesion, and readiness to consolidate and summon all the available forces in order to move forward, for independence and sovereignty and the Motherland.

Part II: Putin told the Russians and the world that Russia’s initial plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. Now, Putin claims Ukraine inseparable from Russia. Further to all diverse developments, it is necessary to remind that in October 2022, the President as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief signed the Law On the Ratification of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Autonomous Republics of Donbass, Donetsk, Kherson and Lugansk and Zaporozhye on the accession to the Russian Federation. These autonomous republics are considered now as indivisible part of the Russian Federation.

In an extensive, wide-ranging interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson in February 2024, Putin used the chance to shape the information environment especially to the West, gave a complete insight into the history of Ukraine, how it was created and became part of the Soviet Union. Invariably, it was simply repetition of the longstanding Kremlin’s talks about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine for the US audience. Media reports indicated there were more 100 million viewers.

In any case, Putin’s re-stated his position clearly. He emphasized that Ukraine must necessarily be part of Russia. And consequently, for Putin, Russia has yet to accomplish its aims in the full-scale ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine. Putin maintains that the geopolitical reasons and processes have provided grounds to pursue a complete denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

Highlighting the entire history before and after the 1917 revolution, the Bolsheviks et cetera, and how Russia viewed Ukraine over its history, and some recent geopolitical shifts was a complete display of excellent knowledge of history as President of the Russian Federation. But what is most essential is what next after with Russia-Ukraine conflict in the context of the emerging new world order? Does the geopolitical shit means Russia to absorb Ukraine as allegedly believe that it is necessary to wipe Ukraine from the map?

According Putin’s narratives, in 1922, when the USSR was being established, the Bolsheviks started building the USSR and established the Soviet Ukraine, which had never existed before. We are coming to the point where the Soviet Ukraine was established. Then, in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. And everything that Russia had generously bestowed on Ukraine was ”dragged away“ by the latter.

There is very important point of today’s agenda, after the collapse of the Soviet Union was effectively initiated by the Russian leadership. And what triggered the latest events? Firstly, the current Ukrainian leadership declared that it would not implement the Minsk Agreements, which had been signed after the events of 2014, in Minsk, where the plan of peaceful settlement in Donbass was set forth.

In the first place, the then Russian leadership believed that the fundamentals of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine were: in fact, a common language — more than 90 percent of the population there spoke Russian, common culture, common history, common faith;  co-existence within a single state for centuries and deeply interconnected economies.

The fundamental conditions are there. Putin thinks how Ukraine’s territory has been developed, what kind of relations there were with Russia. As sovereign Ukraine, which gained its independence as a result of the Declaration of Independence. It should remain as a neutral state, and in 2008 why it suddenly open the doors or gates to  North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? How could Russia not express concern over what was happening? From this standpoint, it was indeed a colossal mistake. This is the simple point of the disagreement. “But we never agreed to NATO’s expansion and moreover we never agreed that Ukraine would be in NATO. Oh, come on! This is not how and what we agreed.” the key message in the February interview made by American journalist Tucker Carlson with Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation.

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Kester Kenn Klomegah, who worked previously with Inter Press Service (IPS), Weekly Blitz and InDepthNews, is now a regular contributor to Global Research. He researches Eurasia, Russia, Africa and BRICS. His focused interest areas include geopolitical changes, foreign relations and economic development questions relating to Africa. As a versatile researcher, he believes that everyone deserves equal access to quality and trustworthy media reports.

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